Group of House Democrats pushes to delay Biden nomination

WASHINGTON — A band of House Democrats is seeking to halt the Democratic National Committee from quickly coronating Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee before the August convention, warning that it could be seen as quashing the raging debate over whether Biden should stay at the top of the ticket.

More than 20 Democrats have signed onto a draft letter, obtained by NBC News, calling on the DNC to pump the brakes on holding a “virtual roll call” formally nominating Biden in a process that could start as soon as Sunday. The DNC initially had planned to do the virtual roll call ahead of the Chicago convention to address challenges of getting Biden on the Ohio ballot, but state lawmakers have since pushed the ballot deadline until after the convention.

The delay effort is being led by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who’s been critical of Biden but has not formally called on him to step aside, two sources with knowledge of the draft letter said. Reps. Mike Levin, D-Calif., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., who both have called on Biden to step aside, have signed on as well, sources said, as has Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., who privately raised concerns that Biden would be a drag on her re-election chances.

"I certainly don't think this should be a rushed decision at this point," Smith said in an interview with NBC News.

The lawmakers slammed the DNC's virtual roll call plan as an "extraordinary and unprecedented action which would effectively accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month."

“Some of us have called on President Biden to step aside, others have urged him to stay in the race, and still others have deep concerns about the status of the President’s campaign but have yet to take a position on what should happen,”