More Democrats ask Biden to drop out. His campaign says he'll be back next week

President Joe Biden waves as he walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. Biden is returning to his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

More Democratic lawmakers on Friday publicly called for President Biden to end his campaign, including Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who said the intraparty drama was a distraction from issues important to voters in his tough reelection race this fall.

Biden was isolating in his beach house after getting COVID earlier this week. But he said in a statement on Friday that he would be back on the campaign trail next week.

His party has gone through an excruciatingly public deliberation over the past three weeks after Biden froze up during a debate with former President Donald Trump. Top leaders in Congress have failed to publicly deny a steady drip of leaks that they’ve appealed to Biden to step aside for a younger candidate because they think he can’t win the election.