Scoop: Biden rebellion resurfaces on Capitol Hill

Democratic members of Congress are reviving a fight over President Biden’s candidacy following a brief respite in the wake of Saturday’s assassination attempt against former President Trump, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Some lawmakers are uneasy about the Democratic National Committee’s plans to forge ahead with a virtual roll call vote to nominate Biden weeks before the Democratic convention.

• “People are back to being angry at Biden and a push to sign on to this letter is going around … the ‘replace Biden’ movement is back,” a House Democrat told Axios.

Driving the news: A letter circulating among congressional Democrats argues that there is “no legal justification” for an early virtual roll call after Ohio moved its filing deadline past the date of the Democratic convention.

• “We respectfully but emphatically request that you cancel any plans for an accelerated ‘virtual roll call’ and further refrain from any extraordinary procedures that could be perceived as curtailing legitimate debate,” it says.
• The DNC moved toward a virtual vote before the debate in response to Ohio threatening to not put Biden on the ballot because the party’s convention was after their deadline. Ohio changed the rule, but the DNC has pushed forward — arguing that the legislature could in theory reverse itself.
• “The suggestion that the timeline for the virtual roll call has been accelerated is false,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement to Axios. “The timeline for the virtual roll call process remains on schedule and unchanged from when the DNC made that decision in May.”

A full copy of the draft letter, details of which were first reported by the New York Times, was obtained by Axios:

Zoom in: Reps. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill) and Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) told Axios they plan to sign onto the letter. Quigley and Ryan have both publicly called on Biden to withdraw.

• Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), who told Biden he should drop out during a call with Hispanic Caucus members on Friday, will sign the letter as well, his spokesperson told Axios.
• One House Democrat told Axios they have received the letter and are considering signing on, and a senior aide to another House Democrat said their boss will sign on.
• Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who told Biden on a Progressive Caucus call last Saturday that he worries the president is being shielded from bad news, has been circulating the letter to colleagues, according to one lawmaker.

Between the lines: In an interview with Axios, Huffman declined to speak about the letter beyond denying that he personally drafted it, but said the early roll call can “only be for political reasons.”

• “I just think it’s a terrible idea for the DNC to do this, I just think people see right through it, and at a time when we have this huge enthusiasm gap with the Republicans, to do a stunt like this is just going to make it worse,” he said.
• Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), the first House Democrat to call for Biden to drop out, said in a statement he is “working with Jared Huffman and other colleagues to oppose short-circuiting the nomination process.”
• Doggett added, “Such misguided DNC action would be contrary to President Biden’s own recommendation that those seeking an alternative nominee come to the Convention.”

The other side: The Biden campaign pointed Axios to the president’s repeated declarations to lawmakers that he will not drop his reelection bid.

• The campaign also noted that Biden has received public pronouncements of support from dozens of House and Senate Democrats and is campaigning in Nevada with several Congressional Black Caucus members.

State of play: The DNC’s virtual roll call is likely to start on July 29 and conclude by Aug. 5, two weeks before the Democratic convention begins on Aug. 19, Axios’ Hans Nichols and Alex Thompson reported.

• That means Biden would only only need to withstand internal opposition and criticism towards his candidacy for another two weeks.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from Rep. Lloyd Doggett and further details.