Rep. Schiff calls on Biden to withdraw, citing 'serious concerns'

Representative Adam B. Schiff has called on President Biden to drop out of the race for the White House, becoming the most prominent Democrat in Congress to do so.

Wednesday’s statement from Schiff — the heavy favorite in his bid for U.S. Senate and a frequent guest on cable news — shook up an effort that had been muted after the weekend assassination attempt on former President Trump.

The Burbank congressman cited “serious concerns” about Biden’s ability to beat Trump in November.

He is the last Democrat in calls for the president of his own party to drop out of the race amid mounting questions about Biden’s age and mental fitness to do the job — concerns that became more public last month after a disastrous debate performance in which the incumbent at times appeared confused.

In a statement first reported by The Times, Schiff said Biden “has been one of the most important presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a senator, vice president and now as president has made our country better.”

“But our nation is at a crossroads,” he said. “A second Trump presidency would undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious doubts about whether the president will be able to defeat Donald Trump in November.”

Schiff said the “decision to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone,” but that he believes it is time for Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, to “pass the torch” and “secure his legacy of leadership” by allowing another Democrat to defeat Trump.

The congressman also said he will fully support whoever ends up at the top of the Democratic ticket.

“I will do everything I can to help them succeed,” Schiff said. “The only goal is to defeat Donald Trump. The stakes are too high.”

Prior to his announcement, the Washington Post had counted 22 other Democrats in Congress who had called on Biden to step down. Schiff is a notable addition to the list.

He is considered close to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), a party leader whose stance on Biden has been cautious, though she suggested at one point that the president was running out of time to decide whether to drop out of the race.

As House speaker, Pelosi used her authority to appoint Schiff to head the House Intelligence Committee, which is one of the most important positions in Congress. She later appointed him to lead Trump’s first impeachment trial, one of the most consequential decisions of her career that helped Schiff rise to national prominence.

When Schiff decided to run for Senate, he was supported by two progressive women.

A source close to Pelosi, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about her communications on the matter, said Schiff's announcement “was news to her” and that Schiff “did not consult” her about it.

On Wednesday night, ABC News reported that during a private meeting over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Biden that it would be “better for the Democratic Party and better for the country if he would step down.”

A Schumer spokesman called the report “idle speculation. Leader Schumer conveyed his caucus’ views directly to President Biden on Saturday.”

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden told Schumer, as well as House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, that “he is the party’s nominee, he plans to win, and he looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100-day agenda to help working families,” the Associated Press reported.

Biden has rejected calls for him to step aside. He has said he has a strong record in the Oval Office and that “average Democrats” want him to stay in the race, even if the “big names” don’t.

He has tried to wear down those critics and resist their pressure long enough to make replacing him as the nominee logistically difficult, if not impossible.

“I'm fully committed,” he told a cheering crowd at the NAACP national convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Biden has also suggested that those expressing concerns about his candidacy may be more concerned about his own chances of winning in lower-stakes races.

“I actually understand the self-interest of a candidate. If they think that, you know, running with Biden as the front-runner is going to hurt them, then they’re going to leave,” he said at a news conference on Thursday.

Schiff is expected to win a Senate seat long held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and currently held by Sen. Laphonza Butler, whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed to serve out the remainder of Feinstein's term after her death in September.

Ship faces former Dodgers All-Star Steve Garveya Republican, after beating out other top Democratic contenders in a crowded primary this year.

After Trump was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, the pace and volume of calls for Biden to drop out of the race dropped, leading some political observers to wonder whether the shooting would quell those calls. Schiff’s announcement, made in the middle of a Republican National Convention where Republicans have appeared unified and Trump’s former rivals in the party have lined up behind him, shows that is not the case.

Schiff's decision also came on a day when an Associated Press poll showed nearly two-thirds of Democrats I think Biden should step down.

TO voting memorandum A study by Democratic firm BlueLabs Analytics, first reported by Politico, found that alternative candidates would perform 3 percentage points better than Biden in a theoretical matchup with Trump in battleground states.

While Vice President Kamala Harris was among those who performed better than Biden, she performed worse than several other potential replacements, including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

But Harris would have advantages if Biden dropped out: She would have easier access to the campaign’s infrastructure, including its fundraising account.

And she was on the ticket with Biden when he was elected in 2020 and in office when he became the presumptive nominee this year.

Harris has many supporters if Biden drops out, including Representative James E. Clyburn, an influential South Carolina Democrat with deep ties to Biden.

But many Democrats have been pushing for a new process that would allow for alternatives, often citing Harris's poor poll numbers.

“We have a very deep bench,” Rep. Scott Peters, a San Diego Democrat who has argued that Biden should drop out, said in a recent interview with The Times. “I would love to hear from a lot of people about their views. I think it could be exciting and could get a lot of attention if we were to showcase all the incredible leaders that we have, who are governors, senators, many of them elected in the same swing states.”

Asked why he didn’t mention Harris, Peters said she was one of the people he was referring to. “She has a strong case and she’s very talented,” he said. “But we have to be really focused on who can win.”

Newsom has also been mentioned as a possible candidate, but the governor, a Biden appointee, has said he has no intention of running and will not run against Harris.

Biden has dismissed the polls as inaccurate and misleading. “I can give you a number of polls where they have likely voters, me versus Trump, where I win every time,” he said.

Democrats plan to hold a virtual vote before the Aug. 19 convention in Chicago, perhaps as early as this month. But some members of Congress oppose that and have circulated a letter urging the party to wait.

Peters said Biden is “being shielded” from bad news by his advisers if he doesn’t see polls showing he can’t win, “because that’s what the polls show.”

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Schiff had warned attendees at a Democratic fundraiser on Saturday that the party would lose the Senate and miss the chance to take the House of Representatives if Biden did not step down.

Schiff's statement further increases pressure on Biden and could prompt other lawmakers who have private concerns to voice them publicly.