California House Democrat pushes for Biden to stop reelection bid

A California Democratic lawmaker on Friday became the 19th member of Congress to ask President Joe Biden to stop his bid for reelection, after a slate of recent shaky performances left Democrats concerned about their chances of beating former President Donald Trump in November.

The president has been facing increasing pressure from congressional Democrats to drop from the race against former President Donald Trump, after he gave a disastrous performance in the first presidential debate and made several flubs on the international stage on Thursday.

Rep. Mike Levin joined his fellow 17 House Democrats and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch in asking the president to "pass the torch" to a new Democratic leader. 

"First, let me say that President Biden has been an outstanding leader, not only of our nation, but of the entire free world. Making this statement is not easy," Levin said in a statement, per Politico. "I have deep respect for President Biden’s five plus decades of public service and incredible appreciation for the work we’ve done together these last three and a half years. But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch."

His call comes after Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen urged Biden to drop out of the race, claiming the president needed to save the country by dropping his bid for reelection. 

"I have deep admiration and love for Joe Biden and all he has done for our country, which is why this decision is so painful, but my son and my constituents can't suffer the consequences of inaction at this critical moment," the congresswoman said. "Joe Biden saved our country once, and I'm joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again."

Levin is now the fifth lawmaker to encourage Biden to reconsider his role in the election since the president made several flubs during a press conference Thursday. Fellow California Democratic Rep. Scott Peters was one of the other five lawmakers to make his call to the president after the news conference.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.