House Democrats warn DNC against moving ahead with virtual roll call to nominate Biden

MILWAUKEE — House Democrats are warning the Democratic National Committee (DNC) not to go ahead with its plan to formally nominate President Biden through a virtual roll call a month before the August convention.

The lawmakers say they have "serious concerns" about the plan as the party remains at odds about the president's candidacy.

Members are circulating a letter to the DNC, which was obtained by The Hill, arguing it is “a terrible idea” to take an “unnecessary and unprecedented” roll-call vote, contending that it could “deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats … at the worst possible time.”

“There is no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action, which would effectively accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month,” the letter read, adding that the justification for the virtual roll call is no longer “valid.”

The supporters of the letter, first reported by The New York Times, called on the DNC to cancel plans for the virtual roll call and to “refrain from any extraordinary procedures” that could be seen as curtailing debate or forcing the nomination early.

“Proceeding with the ‘virtual roll call’ in the absence of a valid legal rationale will be rightly perceived as a purely political maneuver, which we believe would be counterproductive and undermine party unity and cohesion,” the letter read.

The members also noted that Biden has said to members of Congress in recent days that if a Democrat wants to challenge his nomination, they can do so at the convention. And, they noted that the party is “currently engaged in careful consideration and debate” about how essential it is for them to beat former President Trump and win control of Congress.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who is signing the letter, told The Hill in a brief interview that a “substantial number” of lawmakers are supportive of the effort.

“They should do the right thing and pull down this dumb idea instead of accelerating the nomination by a full month,” he said.

The letter marks a resurfacing of unrest within the Democratic Party after public scrutiny over Biden at the top of the ticket was on a brief pause after the assassination attempt at former President Trump’s rally on Saturday.

Ahead of the shooting, about 20 Democrats had come out in public to call for Biden to withdraw from the race, but since then, Biden has been eying a reset, hoping to pivot attention away from his own troubled reelection campaign.

The Biden campaign earlier on Tuesday defended the virtual roll-call plan, which was originally made to ensure Biden appears on the ballot in all 50 states after Democrats were notified earlier this year that the timing of their convention didn’t meet an Ohio deadline to certify the party’s presidential nominee before the Aug. 19 convention.

But, on June 2, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed legislation to extend the deadline from Aug. 7 to Aug. 31. And, since then, Biden’s debate performance has caused concern among Democrats over whether should remain at the top of the ticket.

Huffman said members are hoping that the DNC relents on its plan for a virtual roll-call vote before lawmakers send the letter, warning that going ahead with their plan will leave “a lot of people” frustrated.

“The hope would be it’s not even necessary,” Huffman said.

“All of us would prefer not to send it,” he added. “If they stand their ground and try to do this power play they’re going to upset a lot of people.”