The Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with its plans to virtually nominate President Joe Biden in the coming weeks, sending out an email to its members Wednesday morning stressing that that is “the wisest approach” despite fierce backlash from some Democratic lawmakers.
According to the email, which was sent to members of the convention rules committee within the last hour and was obtained by CNN, the committee will proceed with its previously scheduled meeting on Friday to deliberate – and set in motion – the steps and timeline for virtually nominating Biden.
Importantly, the letter states that “no virtual voting will begin before August 1.”
“Our discussion on Friday of how the Convention will operate will include discussion of a virtual voting element, which will end before the in-person Convention,” the letter says. “We will elaborate on the reasoning below as to why a virtual vote is the wisest approach, and will explain how a virtual vote would work.”
CNN reported on Tuesday that the DNC’s decision to move ahead with virtually nominating Biden in the coming weeks – and a quiet pressure campaign by some Biden allies to accelerate that process ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month – has sparked an uproar inside the Democratic Party.
A growing faction of House Democrats, convinced that Biden is too politically damaged to defeat Donald Trump in November, is calling on the DNC to ditch those plans. A draft letter is circulating among Democratic lawmakers calling on the party to slow down the process.
In Wednesday’s letter, the co-chairs of the rules committee alluded to reports of Biden allies hoping to accelerate the virtual roll call, writing: “No matter what may be reported, our goal is not to fast-track.”
“None of this will be rushed,” they said.
CNN’s Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.
