Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) speaks with reporters on the steps of the U.S. House Of Representatives on June 14. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

By Louis Keene July 17, 2024

Rep. Adam Schiff called on President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, citing “serious concerns” about his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump in November.

Schiff, a Democrat running for Senate in California, is perhaps the highest profile politician to join the calls for Biden to end his reelection bid, and one of several Jewish leaders to express doubt since June 27 presidential debate, at which Biden faltered and rambled. Schiff made the comments Wednesday in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

Biden, he said, “has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better.”

“But our nation is at a crossroads,” he continued. “A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November.”

And while he said that it was up to Biden whether to withdraw, he urged the president “to pass the torch” — a phrase recently employed by two other Democratic members of Congress in similar calls — and “secure the legacy of leadership” by allowing another Democrat to beat Trump.

The LA Times did not release the statement in its entirety, but Schiff did not appear to weigh in on how a replacement Democratic nominee would be selected. Biden easily won the 2024 Democratic primaries. The Democratic National Convention is slated to officially select its presidential nominee in Chicago next month.

Schiff, who came to national attention as an impeachment manager in the case against Trump in 2019, defeated Rep. Katie Porter in the California primary in March, and is heavily favored to defeat Steve Garvey, a Republican, in November.

Schiff is the 20th Democratic member of the House — where he has served since 2001 — to call for Biden to step aside, and the first since Trump was shot on Saturday.

Sen. Peter Welch, D- Vermont, called on Biden to give up the race on July 10. A cadre of other elected leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, have backed Biden.

Nearly two-thirds of Democrats say Biden should drop out, according to an Associated Press poll published Wednesday.

Biden has said staunchly and repeatedly since the debate promised to stay in the race.

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