2024 election updates: Manchin the latest to call on Biden to end reelection bid

President Joe Biden will take questions from the media on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET, his first press conference since the controversy over his candidacy erupted following his debate performance.

Biden has had fewer pressers with the media than his predecessors and the last time he took questions solo was back in November 2023.

The upcoming press briefing is being held at the Washington Convention Center, where Biden will spend a third day at the 2024 NATO Summit.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who participated virtually in the recent meeting between President Joe Biden and governors, has joined the chorus of governors expressing concerns about Biden, telling reporters on Wednesday that Biden "has a lot to do" to assure voters about his capabilities.

"I know that Arizonans have been concerned about the president’s age, and since the debate, I think those concerns are even more top of mind, and I think the president has a lot to do to assure Arizonans and Americans. And I know that he knows that that is his job over the coming weeks," Hobbs said, according to public radio station KJZZ.

Asked if she has concerns about Biden being able to do the job of president for four more years, she said, "Joe Biden can do the job, and that’s all I’m gonna to say about the situation."

"I have one vote in this election, just like everyone else. And to me, the choice is abundantly clear. The guy who’s gonna uphold democracy and the guy who’s trying to tear it down," she added later.

Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race in a Washington Post op-ed published Wednesday evening.

Welch is the first Senate Democrat to officially call for Biden to step aside.

"I understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. But he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not," Welch wrote.

"I deliver this assessment with sadness. Vermont loves Joe Biden. President Biden and Vice President Harris received a larger vote percentage here than in any other state. But regular Vermonters are worried that he can’t win this time, and they’re terrified of another Trump presidency," he said.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., became the ninth Democrat to call on Biden to end his reelection bid.

Blumenauer, a senior member of the House Ways and Means and Budget committees, commended the president for his accomplishments, claiming in a statement released Wednesday that Biden "will be recorded in history as the most successful president in the last 50 years."

However, the congressmen added that, in his mind, "We will all be better served if the president steps aside as the Democratic nominee and manages a transition under his terms."

"The next six months will be critical in the implementation of President Biden's landmark accomplishments that will define his legacy for generations to come. He should devote his energy and undivided attention to issues of war and peace, the climate crisis, and rebuilding and renewing America," Blumenauer said, in part.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel