‘Ready to step up’: VP Harris gains Capitol Hill cheerleaders as Biden isolates with Covid

Vice President Kamala Harris has gained more public support from Democratic lawmakers as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden, should he decide to drop out of the race against former President Donald Trump.

California Rep. Mark Takano on Saturday became the thirty-sixth Democrat on Capitol Hill to call on Biden to exit the race on the record. He added that he believes Harris should be the one to helm the ticket.

“President Biden’s greatest accomplishment remains saving democracy in 2020. He can and must do so again in 2024 — by passing the torch to Vice President Harris as the Democratic Party Presidential nominee,” Takano said in a statement.

“It has become clear to me that the demands of a modern campaign are now best met by the Vice President, who can seamlessly transition into the role of our party’s standard bearer,” he said.

Earlier in July, Takano was one of several Democratic committee ranking members who voiced his concerns about Biden’s reelection bid in a private meeting with House Democratic leadership.

Though some Democrats have been angling for an open convention if Biden exits, Takano has positioned himself within the sect of the party that sees Harris as the rightful heir to the top of the ticket, along with the campaign’s war chest of at least $91 million.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Saturday that Harris “is ready to step up and unite the party,” should the president decide to exit the race. Warren has not officially called for Biden to exit the race.

“Joe Biden is our nominee. He has a very big decision to make, but we are very lucky to have Vice President Kamala Harris. Eighty million people voted for her to step up if she is needed,” Warren said in an interview on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”

“Look, if you’re running against a convicted felon, then a prosecutor like Kamala is really a good person to make that case,” she added.

Since Biden’s stumbling June 27 debate flub against Trump, looming concerns about his age and ability to win in November have left deep cracks within the Democratic Party. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists have called on him to drop out, despite his defiant commitment to stay in the race.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that some donors are organizing funds to vet potential vice presidential picks in case the current Democratic ticket changes.

While the Democratic rifts widen, the president is still isolating with Covid in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

The Biden campaign has continued to publicly and defiantly reject the heightening drop-out pressure, pledging that the president will remain in the race and return to the campaign trail when he is Covid-free.

“As soon as we have the green light, we are going to be back out on the stump,” Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler told reporters Saturday morning.

Tyler said that Biden is expected to get back to campaigning “in earnest” next week.

Biden on Saturday had completed his sixth round of the antiviral Covid treatment, Paxlovid, and was recovering “steadily,” according to an update from his doctor, Kevin O’Connor.

In the meantime, Harris is shouldering the campaign’s message. On Saturday, she delivered remarks at a campaign fundraiser in Massachusetts that raised over $2 million. And on Friday, Harris joined a call with Democratic donors where she doubled down on her support for Biden, according to NBC News.

“We know which candidate in this election puts the American people first: our President, Joe Biden,” she said. “We are going to win this election. We are going to win.”

Conservatives have so far basked in the emerging Democratic divisions, especially coming off of the Republican National Convention convention, a gleeful four-day celebration of Trump, their officially minted nominee.

On Saturday, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s newly selected running mate, capitalized on the Democratic pressure, calling on Biden to not just exit the race but wholly resign from his post.

“Everyone calling on Joe Biden to *stop running* without also calling on him to resign the presidency is engaged in an absurd level of cynicism,” Vance wrote in a post on X. “If you can’t run, you can’t serve. He should resign now.”

Some of Biden’s allies are staying out of the pressure campaign, instead backing whatever path forward the president settles on.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, have remained “deferential” on Biden’s decision to keep his campaign alive, two people familiar with the Clintons’ thinking told NBC News on Saturday.

The Clintons have actively tried to maintain donors’ support for Biden and have told the White House that they would help however they can, the people said.

Though Biden has acknowledged the concerns about his age, he has remained steadfast about his case for reelection and partly blames the media for focusing too much on his political vulnerabilities, even as some recent voter polls reflect his slipping support.

Protesters with a grassroots group called “Pass the Torch” gathered on the White House sidewalk on Saturday, praising Biden’s track record as president but urging him to drop his bid for a second term.

“We are ready to unite behind a new nominee and do everything in our power to electorally kick Donald Trump’s ass in November,” Aaron Regunberg, one of the leaders of the organization, cried out. “We’re begging you Joe, if you’re listening, be the hero. Be the public servant, be the leader that we know you are. Pass the torch.”