2 months ago
26
Immediately after Joe Biden dropped the bombshell that he was dropping out of the presidential race, congressional Republicans started to openly call for him to resign from the White House now.
“If Joe Biden can’t run for re-election, he is unable and unfit to serve as President of the United States. He must immediately resign,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a member of House GOP leadership, posted on X.
She wasn’t alone.
“Doesn’t have the mental acuity or cognitive ability to run a political campaign but can serve for 6 more months as president? He should resign,” wrote Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who’s running to succeed Mitch McConnell as leader of the Senate Republican conference, echoed those calls in a statement.
“Let me be clear, if Joe Biden can’t run for re-election, he is not capable of serving as president for the next six months and needs to resign today,” Scott said. “While we welcome the news that one of America's most destructive presidents will be denied a second term, it changes very little as to the stakes of this election.”
The head of the Senate GOP campaign arm, Montana's Steve Daines, called on Biden to resign immediately.
“If Joe Biden is no longer capable of running for re-election, he is no longer capable of serving as President," Daines said in a statement. "Being President is the hardest job in the world, and I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties as Commander-in-Chief."
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the largest House GOP caucus — the Republican Study Committee — echoed those calls, as well. Similar calls came from lawmakers including Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (Fla.).
“If Joe Biden is unfit to be the Democrat nominee for president, he’s unfit to be president for the rest of his term,” Hern said. “For the good of the country, Joe Biden should resign immediately.”
Other prominent Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have previously said there would likely be legal challenges if Biden stepped aside and Democrats attempted to replace him on the ballot.
“A handful of people in the party, including some of the top elected Democrats in the country, are trying to push Joe Biden out,” Johnson said, prior to Biden’s drop out, on CNN Sunday morning. “If he's incapable of running for president, how is he capable of governing right now? I mean, there’s five months left in this administration. It's a real concern and it's a danger to the country.”
