A faction of House Democrats, who are increasingly convinced that President Joe Biden is too politically vulnerable to defeat Donald Trump in the November election, is urging the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to reconsider its plans to virtually nominate Biden in the coming weeks.
This sets the stage for a major intraparty clash against Biden allies, who are quietly pushing to expedite the president's formal nomination.
According to CNN, a draft letter is circulating among House Democrats, calling on the party to slow down the nomination process — a clear indication of the party's deep concerns about Biden's viability as the nominee.
For weeks, Democrats have been planning to conclude Biden's nomination process before Aug. 7, ahead of the Chicago convention next month.
However, Rep. Jared Huffman, a progressive Democrat from California, voiced concerns, labeling the virtual roll call vote as a "terrible idea" and a "dumb thing."
"If the election were held today, he would get crushed. We have got to do something about it."
Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina suggested that Biden has until the mid-August party convention to decide whether to proceed with his candidacy.
"If he decides to change his mind later on, then we would respond to that," Clyburn said in a recent interview.
However, two key Democratic committees are set to meet on Friday and Sunday to finalize the timeline for delegates to cast their votes, with the earliest voting possibly beginning after the Sunday meeting. This aggressive timeline has drawn scrutiny from Democrats eager for Biden to address his challenges and consider stepping aside.
Initially, the virtual roll call process was devised to circumvent an issue in Ohio that threatened Biden's ballot access in the state.
Although Ohio lawmakers have resolved the issue, the DNC continues to push forward with the virtual roll call, citing potential legal challenges from Ohio Republicans.
Amid the uproar, three former DNC chairs — Donna Brazile, Howard Dean, and Terry McAuliffe —expressed support for the virtual roll call process, describing it as the "wisest course" to ensure the Democratic nominees appear on the ballot without legal challenges.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison denied any attempts to accelerate the process, saying, "The timeline for the virtual roll call process remains on schedule and unchanged from when the DNC made that decision in May."
This internal conflict comes as Republicans rally around their new ticket at the GOP convention in Milwaukee.
