Biden joins calls for resignation of LA City Council members after audio leak of racist comments

President Joe Biden believes all three Los Angeles City Council members should resign over racist remarks exposed in leaked recordings, his press secretary announced Tuesday.

“The president is glad to see that one of the participants in that conversation has resigned, but they all should. He believes that they all should resign,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. “The language that was used and tolerated during that conversation was unacceptable and it was appalling.”

Biden is the latest elected official – and the highest profile – to join the chorus of voices calling for the resignation of Council members Nury Martinez, Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo over racist comments made during a conversation in October 2021.

The conversation, which was recorded and leaked this week, features the Latino councilmembers and Los Angeles Labor Federation President Ron Herrera engaged in a conversation that featured racist remarks about another councilmember’s Black son and racist comments about Oaxacans living in Koreatown.

Martinez announced she would resign from her position as president of the council on Monday and said Tuesday she would be taking a “leave of absence” from the council. Many Los Angeles residents and elected officials are calling for the full resignation of all three councilmembers involved.

Herrera of the LA Labor Federation resigned from his post Monday night, the Los Angeles Times reported.