House of Representatives Democrats have been stunned by the news that one of their leaders has resigned from his leadership position after some of his colleagues voiced discomfort with his attacks on Joe Biden.
In a statement released yesterday, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) announced he was stepping down from his leadership post as Third-Ranking Member of the Democratic caucus, citing a need to “move on from the lingering issues and media coverage surrounding the primary.”
Rep. Pascrell, who was a staunch supporter of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, had drawn criticism from some of his Democratic colleagues in recent weeks for his public attacks on Biden. Many of Pascrell’s attacks declared that the Democratic Party was “not doing enough for working Americans” and that Biden was “not listening to workers.”
Biden supporters argued that Pascrell was merely attempting to disrupt the frontrunner’s rise to the nomination, and the disagreement between Pascrell and other Democratic congressmen reached such a point that some of Pascrell’s congressional colleagues had grown uncomfortable with the level of animosity being displayed publicly.
In his resignation statement, Pascrell said that while he was proud of his leadership role and of the positions he had taken, he felt it was important to put a swift end to the troubling situation. He added that he was now fully committed to supporting Joe Biden and helping the Democratic Party win back the White House in November.
Many of Pascrell’s Democratic colleagues have since expressed their appreciation for his decision to step down, and the Democratic National Committee has praised his decision as well, noting that it is important for the party to prioritize unity as they move forward.