Staff Reports
A legal battle is brewing in the wake of President Joe Biden’s spectacular exit from the 2024 presidential race, and it’s being led by none other than the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. After Biden decided to withdraw on Sunday, this group wasted no time in continuing its quest to challenge the Democratic game plan. They had already alerted the world to their intentions with a memo dated June 21—just after the presidential debate that apparently sent Biden packing. Now, conservatives find themselves in a classic David vs. Goliath scenario, wherein the Goliath is a party the president is trying to bail out of a sinking ship, and David is armed with legal briefs and social media updates.
As more details leak into the public about Biden’s potential replacement—ready yourself for Vice President Kamala Harris—the Oversight Project has promised to keep the public informed about their carefully laid plans for legal action. Their cheeky “Stay tuned” message on X, previously known as Twitter, makes it clear they are gearing up for a fight. While they’ve pointedly taken jabs at media attempts to dismiss their concerns, it appears they’re in this for the long haul. Who knew that legal action could also serve as a form of entertainment?
Conservative legal fight over Biden withdrawal quietly moves ahead https://t.co/3ABEfjm9mo
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 22, 2024
Even as they ramp up legal strategies, questions abound as to the feasibility of any challenges. The memo suggests targeting battleground states like Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin for litigation, claiming Biden never formally became the Democratic nominee in a legal sense. Legal experts—whose opinions generally lean towards the left—have countered that the only road here is a dead end, pointing to rules that make it nearly impossible to replace a candidate once ballots are printed. Legal commentators may have set the odds of this fight at Vegas proportions—about as likely as a snowstorm in July.
Then there’s Marc Elias, the Democratic heavyweight lawyer who seems as confident in Biden’s replacement as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He wielded his legal knowledge to assert that there is no basis for any challenges to Biden’s departure. Notably absent from his post, however, is any mention of how voters might actually navigate the whole “swap-a-candidate-at-the-last-minute” scheme.
House Speaker Mike Johnson entered the conversation, throwing some shade at the Democrats to remind them how difficult their procedural mess really is. He indicated that Biden’s departure isn’t just a simple footnote in Ohio history; 14 million voters had cast their lot with Biden during the primaries. That’s a significant crowd to marginalize because their candidate lost interest in fulfilling his bid for the presidency. The Democrats might want to revisit their playbook—before they’re left with a nominee who didn’t even make the audition.
As the Democratic National Committee gears up for its convention in August, the course of action remains uncertain, adding to the delicious irony of the situation. While Democrats sound just a tad scrambled over the choice to lead, conservatives are reveling in the chaos, sharpening their legal arsenals. After all, who doesn’t love a little courtroom drama in the political arena? Grab the popcorn; this one is bound to be entertaining.
