Scholten is 1st Michigan member of Congress to call for Biden to step down as nominee

U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, on Thursday became the first Democratic member of Michigan's U.S. House delegation to call on President Joe Biden to step down as the party's nominee, saying "It's time to pass the torch."

Scholten posted a message on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter on Thursday morning, a day ahead of Biden visiting Detroit for a campaign rally. She joined nine other House Democrats and one Senate Democrat who had called for Biden to abandon the nomination following a debate performance two weeks ago in which he struggled to respond coherently and stammered, along with ongoing concerns about his age and mental acuity. Later on Thursday, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, and U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, also called for Biden to leave the race.

While praising his lifetime of service and his accomplishments, Scholten — a first-term congresswoman representing a toss-up district in west Michigan — said in the message: "For the good of our democracy, I believe it is time for him (Biden) to step aside from the presidential race and allow a new leader to step up."

Mike Marinella, spokesman for the Washington-based National Republican Congressional Committee working to defeat Scholten this year, called Scholten's statement "a transparent election-year ploy to try to cling to her seat."

"President Biden is sitting in the Oval Office because Hillary Scholten and Democrats hid the truth from voters and lied about the president’s condition. Hillary Scholten must answer the question: Is Joe Biden fit to serve as President?” he said.

Scholten does not address any question of the president's fitness to serve in her statement.

Biden has so far forcefully refused to entertain any calls for him to step down and allow someone else to be the nominee in the race against Trump, noting he clearly and decisively won the nomination process. And while he has acknowledged a poor debate performance, he has said he proves his mental abilities every day by being president.

He also has demurred about taking a cognitive test, though even Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Biden ally and a co-chair of his national campaign, told CNN on Wednesday she thought "it wouldn’t hurt” and could possibly quiet concerns over his fitness to be reelected.

Biden continues to count Michigan U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell and Whitmer as those continuing to back his nomination.

Scholten said that while she has supported Biden and would continue to do so if he remains in the race, he should allow someone else to be the nominee to give the Democrats a better chance of beating Trump, who Biden has trailed in polls in Michigan and other key swing states.

Trump, she said, would "sow chaos and destruction if he were to return to the Oval Office."

"(The) people of Michigan's 3rd Congressional District elected me to represent them with integrity," Scholten said. "They elected a congresswoman they trust to speak the truth, even when that’s hard. They voted for someone who would put America’s future first and stand up for what is right. That’s what I am doing now."

"With the challenges facing our country in 2025 and beyond, it is essential that we have the strongest possible candidate leading the top of the ticket — not just to win, but to govern. … Joe Biden has been that leader for so long; but this is not about the past, it's about the future. It’s time to pass the torch," she continued.

Contact Todd Spangler: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: US Rep. Hillary Scholten calls for Joe Biden to step down as nominee