Doggett is the first sitting lawmaker in his party to publicly state what many have been privately whispering behind closed doors since last week’s debate.Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 16, 2015. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas said in a statement Tuesday that Biden should “make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.”
“I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson,” Doggett, who is the No. 2 Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, continued. “Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same.”for him, but he insisted he was ready to fight for a second term as president.
But Biden's shaky performance during the debate with Trump has shaken Democratic support to its foundations, with members of the party at all levels entertaining the possibility that he can no longer be the nominee. Other elected Democrats said they were caught off guard by Biden's rambling and raspy performance. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, said that he has known Biden for years and served in the Senate with him, but had “never seen that happen before.”