Schiff Calls on Biden to Drop Out of Presidential Race

Representative Adam Schiff of California, a top House Democrat running for Senate, told The Los Angeles Times that he had serious concerns about whether President Biden could win.

By Maggie Astor, New York Times

July 17, 2024

Updated 3:43 p.m. ET

Representative Adam B. Schiff of California said on Wednesday that President Biden should end his campaign, restarting a drip of opposition within the Democratic Party that had paused after the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump over the weekend.

Mr. Biden “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,” Mr. Schiff, who is running for Senate, said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times. But, he said, “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.”

Mr. Schiff had said over the weekend, in a private meeting with donors, that if Mr. Biden remained the party’s nominee, Democrats were likely to lose not only the White House but also down-ballot races. But his public statement on Wednesday was a significant escalation.

He emphasized that he would support the Democratic ticket, even if Mr. Biden stayed at the top, but said he believed it would be better for Mr. Biden to “pass the torch.”

Mr. Biden’s campaign pointed to the letter he sent to congressional Democrats last week, in which he said he was “firmly committed to staying in this race” and added, “I can respond to all this by saying clearly and unequivocally: I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”

The campaign also noted that Mr. Biden has retained the support of many members of Congress, including leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and that some of them have been with him on the campaign trail.

Mr. Schiff’s statement brings the number of House Democrats who have called on Mr. Biden to end his campaign to at least 20. Others have said privately that they believe he should step aside.

Mr. Schiff is closely aligned with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who has not gone so far as to say that Mr. Biden should end his campaign but suggested last week that he might want to consider it — and is one of the highest-ranking Democrats to break publicly with the president. He is a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and was an impeachment manager in Mr. Trump’s first Senate trial in 2020.