How Lobbyists Could Now Install Biden’s Replacement

If the president steps down, the DNC committee that could pick the new nominee is stocked with corporate lobbyists looking to influence public policy.

President Joe Biden mumbled and lost his train of thought at times during the first debate last night. His stumbling performance sent shockwaves through the party establishment and cemented months of concern about the president’s cognitive ability. Democratic pundits on MSNBC and CNN sounded the alarm.

Even Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s former spokesperson, took a swipe at her former boss, calling him “really disappointing” and noting that the president only had to prove that he “had the energy, the stamina — and he didn’t do that.”

Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden (D - Delaware) makes a speech at a campaign stop at the River Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Many news outlets are now reporting on the very real possibility that Biden could be replaced. But there is little discussion of the process and the identities of the corporate lobbyists working as DNC party insiders — many of whom actively lobby for Silicon Valley giants, health insurance conglomerates, and the financial services sector — who could have an outsized influence in selecting the new presidential nominee.

Earlier this month, the Florida Democratic Party affirmed the role of even a Boeing lobbyist as a DNC member — also known as a superdelegate — the insider group that, under certain circumstances, could select the new presidential candidate.