 "Pressure on Joe Biden mounts as Senate Democrat calls for new ticket")
By Steven T. Dennis and Erik Wasson
President Joe Biden faced mounting opposition within his own party Wednesday as a Senate Democrat joined a growing number of House lawmakers in calling on him to step aside.
Vermont Democrat Peter Welch became the first sitting senator to directly endorse replacing the 81-year-old president whose disastrous debate performance has raised concerns about his mental acuity and thrown his reelection bid into tumult.
“For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race,” Welch said in an op-ed in the Washington Post in which he warned about the dangers of another Donald Trump administration.
Biden’s position has not changed and he fully intends to lead the party into the election, aides said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
While the president so far has avoided a jailbreak among influential party members that might make his continued candidacy impossible, the new calls for him to step aside — delivered by Democratic lawmakers and prominent Hollywood donors — underscore how perilous Biden’s political position remains.
Allies remain deeply concerned about his campaign’s viability and the risk it poses to other elected Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is open to replacing Joe Biden as Democrats’ nominee, Axios reports.
The New York Democrat is privately signaling his concern to donors, Axios said, citing three people familiar with the matter. He has publicly stood by Biden even as other senators have expressed worry about Biden leading the party’s ticket.
“I’m for Joe,” Schumer curtly told Bloomberg News, reiterating his catchphrase this week, when asked about the Axios report. He didn’t comment further.
In a brief statement later released by his office, Schumer reiterated his support, which he said he has made clear “repeatedly publicly and privately.”
Schumer invited senior Biden campaign advisers to come to the Capitol on Thursday to brief senators and directly address their outstanding concerns.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier Wednesday said on MSNBC that Biden should quickly decide whether to stay in the race, even though Biden sent a letter to lawmakers Monday saying he has decided to do so.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday evening, Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado said that he told colleagues in a meeting earlier that he doesn’t think Biden can defeat Trump.
Bennet on Wednesday said he’s “looking forward” to the meeting with the Biden campaign officials.
“We should have had it 10 days ago,” he said.