Reps. Ed Case of Hawaii, Greg Stanton of Arizona, and Brad Schneider of Illinois became the latest House Democrats to publicly call on President Joe Biden to exit the presidential race, bringing the total to 13.
It also brings to four the number of Democrats on Thursday alone to go public with asking Biden to drop out.
The latest calls coincide with the beginning of a weeklong recess for Congress. They also come hours before Biden is set to deliver an address before NATO leaders at the end of their three-day summit.
One Democrat senator so far has publicly asked Biden to drop out of the race: Peter Welch of Vermont.
Axios reported that Biden was poised to face a fresh round of calls from Democrats to drop out of the race, regardless of how well he performed in his NATO address. Instead, Democrats pounced on the timing of the recess to release their statements.
Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., was the first Thursday, saying in a statement posted on X, "It's time to pass the torch."
Schneider also hit on the "torch" theme.
"In passing the torch now, President Biden has a chance to live up to this standard and seal his place in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation, and history, has ever known," he said in a statement.
Said Case, "My guidepost is what is the best way forward for our country."
Stanton said in a statement posted on X that Biden's exit is imperative "[f]or the sake of American democracy."
But Biden's campaign dug in again Thursday, releasing an internal memo stating that Biden is the only Democrat who can defeat Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump.
Biden himself has dug in several times in the past week. He said in an interview last Friday that he'll drop out only if "the Lord Almighty" tells him to. On Monday, he sent a letter to Democrats telling them to end the intraparty drama. He did another TV interview on Monday, criticizing the "elites" of the Democratic Party and daring anyone to "challenge me at the convention."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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