Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to withdraw from the race for president, becoming the first Democrat to publicly do so following the incumbent's performance in last week's presidential debate.
Doggett, 77, hailed Biden's achievements as president, but said the incumbent Democrat did not "effectively defend his many accomplishments" against Donald Trump at the CNN presidential debate in Atlanta.
"Stepping up to lead a Nation in crisis, President Biden helped rebuild our country from the devastation of a pandemic, an insurrection, and years of Trump wreckage," Doggett, who has served in the House of Representatives since 1995 and is in his 15th term, said. "Yet, for more than a year, many Americans have indicated dissatisfaction with their choices in this election. President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump.
"I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that," he continued. "It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies."
“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” Doggett said in a statement. “Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”
Doggett, who holds a Texas district once held by Lyndon B. Johnson — who famously withdrew from the race for a full second term in 1968 after a poor showing in the Democratic primaries and waning support amid his own party — invoked the 36th president as he urged the 46th president to step aside.
"I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson," Doggett said. "Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same. While much of his work has been transformational, he pledged to be transitional. He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process."
The key difference between the two, however, is that Johnson withdrew at the beginning of the primary process, while Biden would be doing so after all of the primary ballots have been cast.
In an interview with Spectrum News later Tuesday, Doggett said that he came to the decision to ask Biden to withdraw "reluctantly and sadly" because of his accomplishments as president.
"I've watched the polls and what's happened over the last year," he said. "We've been running behind, hoping that we get some momentum out of this debate. Instead, we got disappointment."
"I watched it with my wife, we were alarmed by his inability to counter the Trump lies and to really defend an admirable effort that the president's made these last few years," he continued, detailing that he discussed his position about wanting to replace Biden as the nominee with colleagues in Congress and his constituents in Texas.
He also said the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump's immunity case on Monday underscored the importance of defeating the Republican ex-president at the ballot box in November.
"There is so much at risk in having a criminal and his gang take over our government, that I just think we have to have a stronger candidate than President Biden has happened to be," Doggett added.
The Texas Democrat told Spectrum News that he left word with the White House about his position on Biden's candidacy, but did not hear back, and warned House Democratic leadership that he would be putting out his statement.
"My statement is mine and not anyone else's, but I think there are a number of my colleagues who share the concern I voiced," he said, expressing his hope that he hopes his colleagues share their concerns with the White House privately, though noting that because his district is not at huge risk of flipping, and quipping that he's not at the beginning of his career in Washington, gives him more flexibility to speak out.
When asked about why he doesn't believe Biden can beat Trump, Doggett pointed to polling which shows that Democratic candidates in battleground and Trump-won states are running ahead of Biden.
"I admire the accomplishments of President Biden, but obviously not other enough Americans do," he said. "We have a convicted criminal, a convicted felon on the ballot who's been engaged in so much misconduct, and yet he continues to run slightly ahead of the president, and in some of these polls he's evaluated as being better able to handle the task of the job than Mr. Biden."
"I say look at the facts, and it wasn't changed by the debate, it was made worse," Doggett continued. "Now is the time, though it's a little late, to begin the change that can bring us to victory in November."
Doggett's call for Biden to step aside comes after ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, still a prominent figure in the Democratic Party, acknowledged that questions about Biden's fitness for office are "legitimate" after last week's debate.
"I think it's a legitimate question to say, is this an episode or is this a condition?" Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday. "When people ask that question, it's completely legitimate — of both candidates."
She did, however, defend Biden, saying that he is at the "top of his game in terms of knowing the issues and what is at stake" and expressed that there are "mixed" opinions about whether the incumbent Democrat should forge ahead with his campaign.
"Some are like, 'Well, how can we subject the process to what might be possible?" Pelosi said of the nomination. "Others are, 'Joe is our guy. We love him. We trust him. He has vision, knowledge, judgment, integrity.'"
"I trust his judgment," she said, though she acknowledged that it's "essential" for Biden to sit for unscripted interviews with journalists to demonstrate his fitness. "That would be a great thing for him."
To that end, ABC News announced Tuesday afternoon that veteran anchor George Stephanopoulos will have the first post-debate exclusive interview with Biden, which will air in full on Sunday.
Biden's performance at last week's debate sparked panic among Democrats anxious about Trump's return to the White House, particularly in the wake of Monday's Supreme Court's decision in the Republican ex-president's claim of immunity from criminal prosecution. Not only is the White House up for grabs in November, but Democrats are hoping to retake the House of Representatives and are defending their narrow Senate majority in multiple battleground states and states won by Trump.
Biden and his campaign spent the weekend reassuring panicked Democrats and donors after his performance in last week's debate. While some Democrats anonymously expressed alarm to multiple news outlets, including Spectrum News, it's possible that Doggett's public call could open up the floodgates to find a new nominee ahead of November's election.
Colorado Democrat Adam Frisch, the nominee for the state's third congressional district this year who rose to prominence when he almost unseateded far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2022, urged Biden to step aside later Tuesday.
"It has been clear to me for some time - and the debate only reinforced it - neither candidate should be running for president ... We deserve better," Frisch said in a statement. "President Biden should do what’s best for the country and withdraw from the race. I thank President Biden for his years of service, but the path ahead requires a new generation of leadership to take our country forward.”
Former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, called for Vice President Kamala Harris to take Biden's place at the top of the ticket.
"We have to rip the band aid off!" he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Too much is at stake. [Harris] has significantly grown into her job, she will destroy Trump in debate, highlight choice issue, energize our base, bring back young voters and give us generational change. It’s time!"
South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, a prominent Democrat who helped put Biden's campaign over the top in 2020, said in an interview on MSNBC that he "will support" Harris if Biden steps aside, and under no circumstances should the party attempt to sidestep the incumbent vice president for another candidate.
"I want this ticket to continue to be Biden-Harris, and then we'll see what happens after the election," Clyburn told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell in an interview. "No. This party should not, in any way, do anything to work around Ms. Harris. We should do everything we can to bolster her whether it's in second place or at the top of the ticket."
If Biden does step aside, Doggett said, the party needs "a fair and open process" in selecting a new nominee.
"I think there's several Democrats who could replace [Biden] and win, and I'm not trying to select one at this point," he said. "I think we need a fair and open process, not a backroom kind of deal on who our nominee is."
"There are only a few weeks remaining, but we have several governors, several members of the United States Senate, and I'm sure the vice president will want to be in the mix also that could be viable candidates," Doggett continued. "Let's hear from them what their priorities are and mainly find out which of them offers us the best opportunity to save our country from moving from democracy to autocracy.
Watch Rep. Lloyd Doggett's full interview with Spectrum News' Reena Diamante in the player above.