U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett asks President Joe Biden to withdraw from presidential ticket

Austin's Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, in a bombshell announcement Tuesday, called on President Joe Biden to make the "painful" decision to step aside in favor of a younger candidate to take on the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

"The risk is too great to take a chance" that the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent might not have the vigor and stamina to go head-to-head with Trump, the 78-year-old former president, in the five months between now and the Nov. 5 election, Doggett told the American-Statesman after making his announcement that touched off a political firestorm that included the White House calling a press briefing to respond.

Doggett, the senior most member of the Texas congressional delegation who has represented parts of Austin in Washington for nearly 30 years, became the first member of his party in Congress to call on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

Doggett said in the interview that his decision was crystalized when he and his wife watched Biden's debate performance against Trump on Thursday. "We were very troubled by what we saw," Doggett said.

Before going public with his opinion, Doggett said he contacted the White House and alerted the U.S. House Democratic leadership of his intentions but did not seek anyone's approval to issue his statement.

Though he is calling on the president to cede his spot at the head of the 2024 ticket, Doggett heaped praise on Biden's performance in the White House since ousting Trump four years ago.

"President Biden saved our democracy by delivering us from Trump in 2020," Doggett said in his statement. "He must not deliver us to Trump in 2024. “Our overriding consideration must be who has the best hope of saving our democracy from an authoritarian takeover by a criminal and his gang."

More:Biden already earned a majority of delegates. Could Democrats still nominate someone else?

Since Thursday's presidential debate between Biden and Trump, many Democratic operatives and supporters have questioned the incumbent's ability to again defeat Trump, citing Biden's age and concerns over a perceived cognitive decline.

Democrats who are in state and federal office are now joining in echoing those concerns. A consortium of Democratic governors on a call Monday sought further clarity on the party's election outlook during a call with the president's campaign.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC after Biden's debate performance that "it's a legitimate question to say, 'Is this an episode or is this a condition?'" But she added, the question should be asked of "both candidates."

During a news briefing Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed off growing Democratic concerns over Biden's ability to remain commander in chief, largely pointing to the president's legislative record while acknowledging the disappointing debate night performance.

"We understand. We're not taking away from what you all saw, what the American people saw," Jean-Pierre said. "We understand it was a bad night. It is not uncommon for incumbents to have a bad night on their first debate."

Pushing against questions from the media over Biden's health leading into and following the debate, Jean-Pierre said Doggett's request of Biden to step down is not so much a condemnation, but an example of the diverse views of the Democratic Party.

"That's something about the Democratic Party that we really respect, it is a big tent party," Jean-Pierre said. "Many people are going to have their opinions and we are going to have our disagreements."

"The congressman is going to have his opinion, he's going to have his thoughts," Jean-Pierre said. "That's for him to speak to."

More:Biden to meet with Democratic governors in wake of debate debacle, calls to leave '24 race

Doggett, who has been a fixture in Texas Democratic politics for more than a half century, referenced in his statement what he called "the painful decision" in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to forgo a reelection campaign.

Johnson's withdrawal fully exposed the widening rift within the national Democratic Party over the war in Vietnam, and it wasn't able to be fully healed during the fall campaign when Republican Richard Nixon emerged as the winner.

"Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same," Doggett said.

In his interview, Doggett expanded on the LBJ comparison, and acknowledged that just as in 1968, "we will have a tough battle ahead of us."

If the party does move to replace Biden, Doggett said the process to select the nominee should a be "democratic, with a small D, process."

"This ought to be open and not a back-room process," Doggett said.

Veteran Texas Democratic operative Matt Angle, who has deep experience in Washington, declined to weigh in on whether Biden should withdraw from the race. But, he said, any decision to stand down or to double down must be made quickly.

"It needs to be done in a matter of days, not weeks," Angle told the Statesman. "This uncertainty is not good. It's not good for the country; it's not good for Democrats. We cannot let Donald Trump back in the White House."

Biden is the party's presumptive nominee, but he won't be confirmed until the Democratic National Convention, which will take place in Chicago on Aug. 19-22. Only then could party leaders take drastic action if they decide to replace Biden at the top of the general election ticket.

More:Major newspapers call for Biden to drop out after debate

Riley Beggin of USA TODAY contributed reporting.