Lloyd Doggett becomes first lawmaker to call for Biden to step aside in wake of debate

WASHINGTON — Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett is the first Democratic lawmaker to break away from toeing the party line, publicly calling for President Joe Biden to step aside and make way for a "new generation of leaders" to unite the country.

"President Biden saved our democracy by delivering us from Trump in 2020," he said in a statement Tuesday. "He must not deliver us to Trump in 2024."

Democratic lawmakers are slowly becoming more vocal in their public criticism of Biden's debate performance and his ability to successfully represent the party on the ballot this fall.

The Texas Democrat on Tuesday noted that former President Lyndon Johnson once represented his congressional district. Johnson declined to seek reelection in the 1968 presidential election, and his withdrawal helped fuel chaos at that year's Democratic national convention in Chicago, where this year's convention will also take place.

"Under very difficult circumstances, (Johnson) made the painful decision to withdraw," Doggett said. "President Biden should do the same."

Lawmakers like Doggett are unlikely to convince the president, who so far has remained committed to staying in the race. But the growing drumbeat may influence others closer to Biden's orbit to reconsider.

Meanwhile, the Biden campaign is dismissing, downplaying, and mocking Democratic critics who are raising concerns that he is not up to the job.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., criticized the campaign for having "a dismissive attitude" toward those who are raising questions. "That’s just facing the reality that we’re in," he told Semafor. "The campaign has raised the concerns themselves. So then to be dismissive of others who raise those concerns, I think it’s inappropriate."

The handful of Democratic lawmakers who were willing to share their concerns in public has continued to grow this week. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., told a local TV station that he was "pretty horrified by the debate," and Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., told CNN that Democrats "have to be honest with ourselves that it wasn’t just a horrible night."

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who has been largely credited for resuscitating Biden's 2020 presidential campaign and securing him the Democratic nomination, is standing by Biden. But he told MSNBC he would support Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination if the president were to step down.

Major figures on Capitol Hill have also started to open up as voters worry about Biden's age. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told MSNBC that it's "it's a legitimate question to say 'Is this an episode or is this a condition?'" However, she added that the question should be asked of "both candidates."

One centrist House Democrat offered a much blunter assessment of Biden's candidacy: "While I don't plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I'm OK with that," Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, wrote in an op-ed in the Bangor Daily News.

Biden's debate performance has noticeably shaken up Democratic lawmakers who are raising concerns that he is not up to the task of counteracting former President Donald Trump – even though the vast majority have not been willing to speak out publicly against him.

But behind the scenes, the party is scrambling to determine whether mounting anxieties about Biden's age jeopardizes their ability to win the White House in the election this fall.

Former Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who served with Biden in the Senate, told USA TODAY he thinks Biden would step down if the campaign sees polling in the next few weeks that shows he can't win. He said he "was surprised" after Thursday's debate because "I have seen (Biden) debate several times and always was impressed."

"This time he obviously wasn't up to the job," he said.

Mitchell McKinney, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Akron and an expert in presidential debates, said it's clear Biden "doesn't seem to be listening" to those members of Congress who are willing to speak up.

"Thus far, the evidence is that it hasn't really made a difference," he said. And "the effect of that debate wears off over time," making it that unlikely the growing tide of lawmaker voices will make a difference ? potentially unless public polling reflects swing voters feel the same.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett calls for Joe Biden to step aside