It's 'Unlawful' For Michelle Obama To Replace Biden In 2024 Elections, House Speaker Johnson Claims
House Speaker Mike Johnson said replacing President Joe Biden on the ticket with another candidate, such as Michelle Obama, ahead of the November election would be "unlawful" in some states.
The top Republican in Congress made the comments on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, just hours before Biden officially dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
"These elections are handled at the state level," Johnson told co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "So, it would be wrong, and I think unlawful, in accordance to some of these states' rules for a handful of people to go in a back room and switch it out because they're -- they don't like the candidate any longer. That's not how this is supposed to work."
Biden's withdrawal was preceded by weeks of calls for the president -- who became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee in March -- to step aside and be replaced by another candidate in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against former President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Former first lady Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were among the names floated as potential replacements for Biden.
However, Johnson suggested that the addition of a new name on the top of the Democratic ticket at this late stage would not be possible and would face legal challenges in some states.
Read also: Michelle Obama Would Beat Trump In 2024 Elections By 11 Points; Everyone Else Would Lose: New Poll
"I think they would run into some legal impediments in at least a few of these jurisdictions," Johnson said on "This Week."
"I think there'll be a compelling case to be made that that shouldn't happen, and so I think they've got legal trouble. If that's their intention, and that's their plan. So we'll see how it plays out," he added.
But election law experts have pushed back on this idea, pointing out that Biden is not yet the official Democratic nominee. The party will pick its official candidate during the Democratic National Convention, which begins on Aug. 19.
"Joe Biden is not the party's nominee now, and states generally point to the major party's nominee as the one whose name is on the ballot," Richard Hasen, a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles, recently wrote in a piece, according to ABC News.
Republican campaign attorney Ben Ginsberg also told CNN that it is unlikely for any lawsuit seeking to challenge the Democrats' move to switch out Biden for another candidate to succeed.
"As a legal matter, it is up to the convention to nominate a candidate," Ginsberg, a veteran general counsel to GOP nominees, said. "And all the legal precedent is on courts deferring to the party's choice for its nominee and then giving the voters the choice."
When he announced his withdrawal Sunday, Biden officially endorsed Harris to succeed him.
"My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President," Biden wrote in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter. "And it's been the best decision I've made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year."
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
In response, Harris said in a statement that she would do her best to "earn and win this nomination."
Following Biden's announcement, Obama also became a trending topic on X as numerous users called on her to run for president.
However, the former first lady has repeatedly said that she has no plans to launch a White House bid.
