Sen. Joe Manchin is latest member of Congress to call on President Biden to end reelection bid

Sen. Joe Manchin is the latest to call for President Joe Biden, 81, to end his re-election campaign.

The former Democratic senator from West Virginia — now an independent — joins 30 Democratic members of Congress who have publicly called on Trump to step aside after a disastrous debate performance last month that led to a series of gaffes.

“It is with a heavy heart that I have decided that it is time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin said on CNN’s State of the Union.

In a separate interview on ABC This Week on Sunday morning, Manchin said he worries that Biden ““Finish the job he started and do it the way he wants.”

“I’m concerned about the health and well-being of the president, I really am,” he added.

Calls for an end to Biden’s campaign only grew louder after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week and pulled from his campaign trail while campaigning in Nevada during the Republican National Convention.

The West Virginia senator, once mentioned as a potential candidate for a divided party in 2024, urged an “open process” for Biden’s replacement and said he is “partisan against governors.”

Manchin’s comments Sunday follow similar calls from two of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

Even some leading Democrats in Congress, seen as Biden’s allies and defenders, are willing to expect him to withdraw from the 2024 race.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has publicly expressed disappointment with Biden amid concerns about his fitness for office.

“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign rests solely with President Biden, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” the congressman said in a statement Wednesday.

“And by doing that, we are securing his leadership qualities so that we can defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election,” Schiff added.