House Democrats circulate letter asking DNC not to rush to nominate Biden | Real Time Headlines

house democrats A letter seeking signatures is being circulated urging Democratic National Committee slow down its nomination process President Joe Biden.

The letter asked the Democratic National Committee to cancel plans to hold a “virtual roll call” to formally nominate the president. The process could begin as soon as Sunday, weeks before the Democratic National Convention, when nominees typically vote in person.

“It is a terrible idea to stifle debate and prematurely prevent any possible changes in Democratic votes through unnecessary, unprecedented ‘virtual roll calls’ in the coming days,” the letter reads.

The letter has received more than 20 signatures so far, including from Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Mike Levin, D-Calif. Two sources told NBC News,

A spokesperson for Huffman’s office confirmed to CNBC that Huffman was one of several people leading the signature drive.

“Rep. Huffman and other members are deeply concerned about this extraordinary attempt to speed up nominations and do not believe that brute force is the way to gain enthusiasm,” the spokesperson said.

Sources said the signers took different positions on Biden’s re-election campaign. For example, Levine has publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race, while Wilder has yet to comment publicly.

The Democratic National Committee decided to possibleaccelerating its nomination timeline to get its nominee on the ballot in Ohio, a state that has become a Republican stronghold in recent years, before an Aug. 7 deadline.

Ohio The voting deadline has since been pushed back to late August, but the Democratic National Committee is maintaining its plan to fast-track the nomination.

House Democrats said in the letter drafted that if Ohio’s voting deadline has no legal basis, speeding up the nomination process would be viewed as “purely a political ploy.”

Despite concerns on Capitol Hill, the Democratic National Committee doubled down on the virtual roll call decision in a statement: “Suggestions that the virtual roll call schedule has been expedited are false. The schedule for the virtual roll call process remains on track and will begin as planned. When the DNC made this decision in May,” the DNC said.

The Biden campaign also supported the virtual roll call plan at a news conference in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

“I think the simple answer is the fact that, you know, there have been virtual roll calls in previous presidential elections,” said Quentin Fulks, Biden’s deputy campaign manager. “Ohio Republicans decided to play games… … As a campaign, we have an obligation to make sure President Biden is on the ballot.”

The letter comes as some Democrats continue to call for Biden to drop out of the presidential race due to poor performance debate performance against former President Donald Trump in June. As of Tuesday, at least 19 Capitol Hill Democratic Party Publicly calling on Biden to withdraw from the race.

Other lawmakers issued more moderate statements to let the public know where they stand on Biden as the party’s nominee. Still, others kept their concerns about Biden behind closed doors.

For example, California Rep. Adam Schiff told donors in a private meeting on Saturday that Democrats would lose both the Senate and the House if Biden stayed in the race, according to reports on Tuesday. New York Times Report.

Biden has defiantly pledged to stay in the race despite pressure from Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists.

“Fourteen million people voted for me to be the Democratic nominee, okay?” the president said Monday interview With NBC’s Lester Holt. “I listen to them.”

The NBC interview is part of a larger campaign to salvage Biden’s political future through more public appearances.

Over the past few days, however, Biden’s media extravaganza has been largely overshadowed by the assassination of Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, in which one attendee was killed and two others seriously injured .

The horrific shooting further heightened the energy at this week’s Republican National Convention, where Republicans are rallying enthusiastically around their newly confirmed presidential candidates: Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.

Meanwhile, with Democrats divided over Biden’s political future, lawmakers said in a draft letter to the Democratic National Committee that the party needs more time to finalize its slate of presidential candidates and speeding up the nomination process would undermine that effort .

“At its worst, this could severely damage the morale and unity of Democrats — from delegates, volunteers, grassroots organizers and donors to everyday voters,” the letter reads.

“Democrats must nominate their presidential candidates in the usual order at the Democratic National Convention,” the letter continued.