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Rick Caruso’s role in the 2002 rejection of a Black LAPD chief created a furor

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20 years in the past, the Los Angeles Police Division confronted a defining second, as crime ticked upward, an enormous corruption scandal smoldered and a federal decide pushed to right the division’s lengthy historical past of civil rights violations.

A central preoccupation of L.A. politics in 2002 grew to become: Ought to Chief Bernard C. Parks get a second five-year time period? Or ought to the division be handed to a brand new chief?

Mayor James Okay. Hahn and his civilian Police Fee, headed by businessman Rick Caruso, determined to finish Parks’ practically four-decade profession with the LAPD and to interchange him with former New York Police Division chief William J. Bratton.

The choice resonated by the LAPD for years, as Bratton presided over a largely regular drop in crime and extra agreeable relations with the federal overseers of reform. The management change triggered demonstrations and requires Caruso’s resignation. And it echoes at this time, because the billionaire actual property developer depicts his service 20 years in the past as essential in guiding the LAPD into a brand new period.

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Many specialists see that period as the start of a greater time for the LAPD, its fame improved amongst Angelenos and the worst offenses of the “warrior” model of policing tamped down throughout Bratton’s tenure. However some progressives view the legacy of that point, with its extra frequent police-citizen interactions, as oppressive for the town’s most weak folks.

“I’m the one candidate that has ever headed up a police division,” Caruso mentioned in an interview, “who employed senior management at a police division, reformed a police division, obtained it out of a federal consent decree and introduced it again to civilian management … employed 800 officers and dropped crime by 30%.”

Information and interviews recommend that, whereas Caruso had an vital hand in adjustments on the LAPD, his function was extra nuanced, a few of his accomplishments extra modest and the adjustments depending on extra gamers than the candidate’s narrative suggests.

As Police Fee president, Caruso didn’t head the LAPD however, quite, led the panel of 5 civilians who ended Parks’ reign and helped make Bratton the brand new chief, a selection in the end made by Hahn.

He and 4 different commissioners set some division insurance policies, however probably the most essential civil rights correctives had been ordered by U.S. District Choose Gary A. Feess. Relatively than ending the judicial decree, the LAPD remained below Feess’ oversight for years after Caruso left the fee.

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The LAPD might have employed 800 officers on Caruso’s watch, however attrition meant that the drive grew much less, by roughly 370 officers, nicely wanting the 1,000 enhance the Hahn administration had promised. Crime did drop by 30% over 4 years, as Caruso claims, with specialists crediting many elements — together with the LAPD’s techniques, an bettering financial system and the gentrification of some crime-plagued neighborhoods.

Hahn appointed Caruso to the Police Fee in 2001. His most memorable moments as president got here through the 2002 showdown with Parks, the division’s second Black chief, whom Hahn had beforehand lauded for his insistence on excessive requirements and for a marked drop in crime in his first years in workplace.

By 2002, regardless of Parks’ persistent claims that his robust hand would enhance the division, he took criticism on a number of fronts: for a rise in violent crime, for meting out overly harsh and indiscriminate punishment; for insisting he may information reform, quite embracing the monitoring (together with on racial profiling) that the town had agreed to conduct as a part of the federal court docket order.

Nonetheless, a furor erupted in early 2002, when Hahn introduced he didn’t help a second time period for the chief. Black leaders mentioned they felt betrayed. Radio host Tavis Smiley referred to as Hahn’s determination “a slap within the face of African American voters, with out whom Jimmy Hahn would by no means have grow to be mayor.”

Parks’ allies mentioned the mayor’s announcement tilted the talk in opposition to the chief, regardless of a Metropolis Constitution requirement that the Police Fee make the ultimate determination.

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Hahn, now a Superior Court docket decide, declined to be interviewed, saying he was constrained from discussing political issues. However certainly one of his closest aides mentioned he deserved many of the credit score for altering chiefs.

Richard Drooyan, a former federal prosecutor who twice served on panels analyzing the LAPD’s failures, mentioned in an interview that Hahn’s transfer to a brand new chief represented “a profile in braveness, as a result of Jimmy Hahn knew if he changed Parks it may jeopardize his reelection.”

Then and now, Caruso mentioned the fee acted independently. Requested in 2002 whether or not he feared breaking with Hahn on the problem, Caruso informed The Occasions: “What’s the worst factor that may occur, that I get fired? Then I get extra private time for my household and my enterprise.”

The battle between Parks and Caruso grew to become private. The fee president accused the chief of offering deceptive info. The chief denied it and countered that Caruso and different commissioners had merely adopted the dictates of the mayor who, in flip, was bowing to the calls for of the cops’ union.

Protesters shut down work on the Grove, the buying middle then on the verge of opening within the Fairfax district. A pacesetter of the Grove protest referred to as Caruso “extraordinarily smug and boastful.” The developer countered that he wouldn’t give in to “extortion.”

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The emotional tempest spiked when Caruso reportedly referred to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) as a “bitch” when he met privately with a bunch of police commanders. The congresswoman had been planning a rally in help of Parks. Leaders within the Black group demanded that Caruso be ousted. Hahn refused.

Caruso declined to touch upon whether or not he used the phrase. He calls the Waters furor nothing greater than “a diversionary tactic, a part of a technique to undercut me.” If elected, he provides: “I sit up for working with the congresswoman.” The fee voted 4 to 1 to disclaim Parks a second time period.

“I took the slings and arrows at the moment,” Caruso recalled. “To the nice credit score of Jim Hahn, he by no means requested me to waver or change my considering.” (Rejected by many Black voters in 2005, Hahn misplaced his bid for a second time period to Antonio Villaraigosa.)

Parks went on to serve 12 years on the Metropolis Council. Now retired, the 78-year-old Parks nonetheless speaks at size concerning the unfairness of the end result. He says Caruso’s deal with ending his time as chief shouldn’t be considered as a energy, including: “If that’s your one main accomplishment that you simply declare, then you definately’ve not achieved a lot within the final 20 years.”

Connie Rice, a civil rights lawyer who has intently monitored the LAPD for many years, mentioned that Hahn led the way in which for the vital change however that Caruso performed a key function.

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“It took actual management by Rick to shepherd that fee by that form of confrontation with a really highly effective chief,” mentioned Rice, who has endorsed Rep. Karen Bass for mayor. “On a scale of management, I give him an 11 out of 10.”

Although Caruso now touts the hiring of Bratton as certainly one of his most vital actions, he initially seemed to LAPD insiders to fill the job. “It was ironic that he ended up supporting me, as a result of it was my understanding he was not for me initially,” Bratton mentioned in a current interview.

Caruso mentioned his ideas shifted after extra analysis, together with a chat with former President Clinton. “Clearly, I used to be satisfied that [Bratton] was the most effective regulation enforcement government within the nation,” Caruso mentioned.

Caruso additionally impressed certainly one of his fee colleagues, Silvia Saucedo, with making a wide range of folks really feel heard in public hearings concerning the chief’s job. At the same time as a few of the classes grew heated, Caruso would give out his cell phone quantity. “I used to be like, ‘Wow, Rick is for actual,’ ” Saucedo mentioned.

Caruso’s marketing campaign web site calls Bratton “probably the most transformational determine within the historical past of policing within the metropolis of Los Angeles.” And Bratton has returned the praise, endorsing Caruso as an efficient supervisor who “talks the speak and walks the stroll.”

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Although many previous Police Commissions had been considered as rubber stamps for the police chief, the panel Caruso led in 2001 and 2002 acted extra independently in some areas. The group moved to bolster the “senior lead officer” group policing program, to restrict high-speed chases, to interchange the dilapidated headquarters at Parker Heart and to create an impartial fee to evaluate the division’s response to the Rampart corruption scandal.

Jim McDonnell, a former prime deputy to Bratton and later L.A. County sheriff, mentioned Caruso “seemed out for the cops, however at all times in gentle of what was greatest for the group.”

Specialists credit score L.A.’s crime dip throughout that point to a comparatively robust financial system and gentrification of once-dangerous neighborhoods. Bratton cited extra assertive policing — utilizing statistics to maneuver further detectives and officers into high-crime areas and specializing in the small quantity of people that dedicated nearly all of offenses.

A 2009 Harvard research, commissioned by Bratton, discovered that public satisfaction with the LAPD elevated, with 83% of residents saying the division was doing an excellent or wonderful job. The research additionally discovered that stops of pedestrians and drivers had elevated sharply over six years from 587,200 in 2002 to 875,204 in 2008. The Harvard researchers accepted of the “high quality” of the stops as a result of a better proportion of these questioned had been arrested and prosecuted.

Former state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) argued in an article within the Nation that the LAPD was at risk of mimicking the New York Police Division’s controversial “cease and frisk” insurance policies. Hayden wrote that the numbers “level towards racial profiling and a attainable ticking time bomb.”

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Jody Armour, a USC regulation professor who focuses on racial justice, pointed to research that confirmed that elevated stops, just like these within the Bratton period, didn’t result in a lower in severe crimes. However he mentioned harm in poor communities of coloration was actual.

“A reservoir of resentment grows and festers and it shatters the belief and confidence that members of the group have in regulation enforcement,” Armour mentioned. “And, most significantly, it doesn’t make the communities safer.”

Caruso mentioned the crime decreases of his period communicate to the LAPD’s successes. “On the face of it, I believe you wish to have officers engaged and also you wish to have officers making arrests for crimes,” he mentioned. “However you wish to ensure that they’re doing it in the fitting method.”

As to Caruso’s declare of reforming the LAPD, these across the division 20 years in the past say a very powerful driver of change was the court docket order, imposed after the U.S. Justice Division concluded there was a “sample or apply” of civil rights abuses by officers.

Drooyan, himself a Police Fee president years after Caruso, mentioned the consent decree “made the division accountable to the federal decide, greater than to every other single individual.” (Drooyan is supporting Metropolis Atty. Mike Feuer for mayor.)

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Caruso mentioned he obtained the LAPD out of the consent decree, citing claims by Bratton and others that the order was largely fulfilled not lengthy after he left the fee. However that diverges from Feess’ view on the time.

In 2006, the decide angrily rebuked the division for what he discovered was the gradual tempo of reform. He prolonged the diploma, lastly handing oversight again to the Police Fee in 2009 earlier than lifting the order completely in 2013, eight years after Caruso left the fee.

One other vital responsibility for Police Fee members is judging whether or not police used drive appropriately. Common observers of the fee considered Caruso as a good arbiter, prepared to carry officers accountable when the info demanded it.

The commissioners generally noticed their findings overruled, nevertheless, by inner LAPD panels referred to as boards of rights. Caruso argued that permitting civilian commissioners to be overruled by panels that included LAPD supervisors “made no sense.” He continues to say the system needs to be reexamined.

A central element of Caruso’s present public security plan is including 1,500 officers to a police drive that now stands at about 9,500. Caruso’s marketing campaign chastised the “cowardly” L.A. Metropolis Council for briefly reducing LAPD funding final yr.

Whereas placing himself on the middle of many previous public security initiatives, Caruso now distances himself from others — notably his help of gross sales tax and trash payment will increase to pay for extra police and a shift of extra healthcare prices to metropolis workers, to stretch the town price range additional.

The businessman suggests he was merely following Hahn’s lead on the proposal (subsequently enacted below Villaraigosa) to boost the trash payment. Across the identical time, late 2004, Caruso mentioned he would spend his personal cash to advertise a measure imposing a half-cent gross sales tax to rent extra police.

“This might be the most effective funding I may make,” Caruso mentioned of the gross sales tax. “Being a Republican, I don’t like taxes, however generally you must do it.” By a single vote, the Metropolis Council rejected placing the tax on the poll.

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Caruso, who registered as a Democrat earlier this yr, now says he wouldn’t want to boost charges and taxes, or reduce different providers, to rent extra cops. He says he would discover the cash by reducing waste in metropolis departments, which he estimated at about 10%, or $1.1 billion. He additionally mentioned his reforms would permit companies to earn more money and, thus, generate extra tax receipts.

Veterans of decades-long fights to develop the LAPD cautioned that a large portion of the town price range is tied up in worker salaries, advantages and pensions.

“If it was really easy to seek out $1 billion within the metropolis price range, somebody would have figured it out by now,” mentioned Zev Yaroslavsky, who headed the Metropolis Council’s price range committee for greater than a decade. “One must have a Plan B, in case they’ll’t discover that 10%.”

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Biden seemingly contradicts WH after press secretary says president did not have medical exam after debate

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Biden seemingly contradicts WH after press secretary says president did not have medical exam after debate

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Hours after the White House told reporters that President Biden had not had any recent medical exams, the president reportedly contradicted his press secretary by telling governors that he had a recent medical checkup.

When pressed about the president’s health during a press briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explicitly told reporters that Biden has not had any medical exams since his last annual physical.

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“Has the president had any medical exams since his last annual physical in February?” CNN’s Min Jung “MJ” Lee asked.

“And got – and we were able to talk to the – to his doctor about that, and that is a no,” Jean-Pierre said.

NEWSOM DOUBLES DOWN ON SUPPORT FOR BIDEN IN MICHIGAN: ‘I BELIEVE IN HIS CHARACTER’

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre assured reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday that President Biden had not received a medical exam since his annual exam in February. (Getty Images)

Jean-Pierre reiterated that the 81-year-old president had not received any kind of medical exam.

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“He hasn’t had any kind of medical exam?” Jung said.

“No,” Jean-Pierre replied.

Democrat Gov. Wes Moore, Kathy Hochul and Tim Waltz

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, left, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak to the media outside the White House on July 3, 2024. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Jean-Pierre’s comments came just hours before Biden met with Democrat governors at the White House on Wednesday night. 

According to the New York Times, Biden told governors that had seen the White House physician to check on the cold his campaign said that he had during the presidential debate against Trump.

FEAR SPREADS AMONG CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY CALLING FOR BIDEN’S SUCCESSION

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Biden also reportedly told governors that he would no longer schedule events after 8 p.m. so he could “get more sleep,” the outlet reported.

When questioned about the seemingly contradictory comments, the White House sent the following statement to Fox News Digital:

“Several days later, the President was seen to check on his cold and was recovering well,” the White House press office clarified.

President Biden in Washington, D.C.

President Biden is shown during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center on July 2, 2024. (AP/Evan Vucci)

The comments come as Biden’s closest allies, politicians and the media have raised concerns about the president’s age and mental acuity.

With a raspy voice and rambling answers, Biden struggled during portions of last week’s presidential debate.

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Following the debate, Democrats and liberal media figures appeared to be in a “panic” after Biden’s performance.

Three shots of Biden during the debate

Voters, lawmakers and media outlets have expressed concerns over Biden’s age and ability to serve a second term after the debate. (Getty Images)

The optics led to a full-on meltdown in Democrat-friendly media, with journalists at various outlets reporting on dozens of Democratic Party officials who said Biden should consider refusing his party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

Some strategists have suggested the Democratic Party must act quickly to replace Biden before his nomination is made official.

Vice President Harris has been largely ruled out as a potential replacement due to her unpopularity with voters. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have each previously been floated as a potential last-minute replacement.

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2024 California propositions voter guide: minimum wage, crime, marriage, healthcare, rent and more

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2024 California propositions voter guide: minimum wage, crime, marriage, healthcare, rent and more

In addition to a precarious presidential election and high-stakes U.S House races, California voters in November will also weigh in on a slew of statewide initiatives that could significantly shape policy and affect the lives of millions of residents.

Ten measures will be on the ballot and will ask voters if they support raising the minimum wage, cracking down on crime, banning forced prison labor, capping rent and much more.

Golden State voters are accustomed to legislating by the ballot and are often faced with a list of initiatives as part of the state’s direct democracy process. But this year especially, political parties are hopeful that some of the causes will help draw voters to the polls to check other boxes, too, said Mindy Romero, founder of the Center for Inclusive Democracy, a nonpartisan research organization focused on elections.

“Sometimes there are people who are not interested in the top ticket that may solely come out because of their cause,” said Romero, who is a political sociology professor at USC.

Altogether, campaigns supporting and opposing the ballot measures have collected tens of millions of dollars in contributions.

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The number of initiatives put to voters could have been much higher, but a flurry of last-minute negotiations in the state capitol led to measure proponents agreeing to pull their proposals in favor of legislation, including a move to make financial literacy a high school graduation requirement. The remarkable round of deal making comes as state leaders have fought to tackle a massive budget deficit and worry about bogging down voters with a crowded ballot.

Here are the initiatives voters will officially see on their ballot in November:

Proposition 2

This bond measure would authorize the state to borrow $10 billion to modernize K-12 schools and community colleges.

The funding could be used to repair outdated school buildings and to upgrade libraries, heating and cooling systems and broadband internet.

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Proposition 3

two interlocking wedding rings in red and blue

This measure would remove outdated language in the state Constitution that still defines marriage as between a man and woman and instead replace it with a broad “right to marry.”

While the constitutional clause is unenforceable, and same-sex marriage remains federally protected, proponents of the measure say it’s a necessary precaution in case of potential rulings from a conservative Supreme Court majority former President Trump helped appoint.

Proposition 4

earth surrounded by red fire

This bond measure would authorize the state to borrow $10 billion to help fund the response to climate-related disasters such as drought, flooding and extreme heat. It would also help to ensure clean drinking water.

If approved by voters, it will be the largest investment in combating climate change in California history.

Proposition 5

city buildings, bridge, and traffic cone over a gear shape

This measure would make it easier for local governments to approve bonds and tax measures that fund affordable housing and some public infrastructure.

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Proposition 5 would lower the required vote threshold to approve those measures from a two-thirds supermajority to 55%.

Proposition 6

hand in shackle holding a hammer

This measure would ban involuntary servitude and end mandatory work requirements for state prisoners.

The proposed constitutional amendment is part of a reparations package for descendants of African Americans enslaved in the U.S.

Proposition 32

two red dollars in a blue envelope

This measure would increase California’s hourly minimum wage from $16 to $18 and annually adjust it for inflation.

The proposal comes after the state’s politically powerful unions secured $25 an hour for healthcare workers and $20 an hour for fast-food workers and as cities including West Hollywood have moved ahead of the state minimum to as much as $19.08 an hour.

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Proposition 33

red and blue house with document lines and a pen

This measure would allow cities and counties to enact rent control.

Proposition 33 would repeal a 1995 law called the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which generally prohibits local governments from limiting rental rates as issued by landlords.

Proposition 34

blue house with red ribbon inside

This measure would require that healthcare providers spend most of the revenue they get from federal prescription drug discount programs on direct patient care.

It would apply only to a very specific subset of doctors who have spent more than $100 million over a decade on “anything other than direct patient care.”

Proposition 35

stethoscope in red and blue with stacks of coins

This measure would provide permanent funding for Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid, which pays for health services for low-income residents.

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Right now, a tax on managed health insurance plans that funds the program is set to expire in 2026.

Proposition 36

Three handcuffs connected

This measure, backed by law enforcement agencies, would impose harsher sentences for drug possession and retail theft. It would turn some crimes involving fentanyl and repeated shoplifting that are currently misdemeanors into felonies.

Proposition 36 aims to roll back parts of Proposition 47, which a decade ago recategorized some low-level offenses.

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Campaign crisis: Dems who have called for Biden to drop out or raised concerns about his health

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Campaign crisis: Dems who have called for Biden to drop out or raised concerns about his health

President Biden’s catastrophic performance at last week’s debate has sparked panic among the Democratic Party’s hierarchy, with key players said to be mulling how to get him to abandon his re-election bid.

The situation has plunged the party into crisis and threatens to drive a wedge between Biden loyalists and elected officials in swing districts ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

Biden’s top campaign aides have been working damage control with major donors over the past week, while the White House — and Biden himself — remain adamant he is the right man to lead the party against former President Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.

BIDEN RESISTS MOUNTING PRESSURE TO STEP ASIDE

President Biden’s debate performance has sparked panic among the party’s hierarchy with high-stakes discussions taking place about whether he should head the party’s ticket. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Democrats who say Biden should drop out

  • Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas: “I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”
  • Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.: “I’m going to support [Biden], but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere … What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility of keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.”
  • Adam Frisch, candidate for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District: “I thank President Biden for his years of service, but the path ahead requires a new generation of leadership to take our country forward.”
Raul Grijalva

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., on Wednesday became the second Capitol Hill Democrat to call on President Biden to exit the race. (Getty Images)

VAN JONES SAYS DEMOCRATS NOW PLANNING ON ‘HOW’ TO REPLACE BIDEN WITH HARRIS

Democrats who have raised concerns 

  • Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’ When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate of both candidates.”
  • Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, D-Wash.: “About 50 million Americans tuned in and watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes. We all saw what we saw, you can’t undo that, and the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump.”
  • Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine: “In 2025, I believe Trump is going to be in the White House. Maine’s representatives will need to work with him when it benefits Mainers, hold him accountable when it does not and work independently across the aisle no matter what.”
  • Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa.: “Maybe folks don’t want to hear, but we have timing that is running out. Time is not on our side. We have a few months to do a monumental task. It’s not cheap and it’s not easy. If our president decides this is not a pathway forward for him, we have to move very quickly. There’s not going to be time for a primary. That time is past. The vice president is the obvious choice. She’s sitting right there.”
  • Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass: “I deeply respect President Biden and all the great things he has done for America, but I have grave concerns about his ability to defeat Donald Trump.”
  • Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.: “I do know this: I think that the American people want an explanation; they need to be reassured, and I hope that over the next several days, we’ll do that.”
  • Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill.: “I think we gotta be honest with ourselves, this wasn’t just one bad debate performance. There are very real concerns, and you have to take the voters for where they are, not where you want them to be.”
  • Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.: “I really do criticize the campaign for a dismissive attitude towards people who are raising questions for discussion. That’s just facing the reality that we’re in.”
  • Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.: “I think like a lot of people, I was pretty horrified by the debate… I think people want to make sure that this is a campaign that’s ready to go and win, that the president and his team are being candid with us about his condition — that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days.”
Nancy Pelosi on MSNBC

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., expressed concerns about Biden’s health on MSNBC.

Democrats who support Biden as nominee

Twenty-three Democratic governors from across the nation descended on the White House on Wednesday evening to meet with the embattled president, but after the gathering, only Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke to reporters to express their support. 

Moore described the meeting with Biden as “honest” and “candid” and said that the governors were “going to have his back.”

Hochul said President Biden was “in it to win it” and that the trio had pledged their support to him “because the stakes could not be higher,” invoking on the eve of Independence Day, the fight against tyranny.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who many commentators have proposed as a possible Biden replacement, also took part in the White House meeting and backed the 81-year-old. 

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“I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I,” Newsom posted on X on Wednesday night. Newsom also publicly backed Biden immediately following the debate. 

“You don’t turn your back because of one performance,” Newsom said after the debate. “What kind of party does that? This president has delivered. We need to deliver for him at this moment.”

california gov. newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters after the presidential debate. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker has also publicly backed Biden, as has Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green. 

Elsewhere, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a longtime Biden ally, has also expressed his support, as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

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“A setback is nothing more than a setup for a comeback,” Jeffries posted to X on Saturday.

Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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