House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he could foresee “legal hurdles” in some states if President Biden is replaced as the Democratic nominee.

He told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that Democrats will have “real problems” if Mr. Biden is pushed to be replaced.

“I mean, every state has their own election system. That’s our constitutional system,” said Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican. “That’s the way it’s done. And in some of these states, it’s a real hurdle. They have a real problem of replacing the nominee on the top of the ticket.”

“Joe Biden was chosen after a long, small-d democratic process by 14 million people emerging through that primary,” he said. “It will be very interesting to see if the so-called party of democracy, the Democrats, go into a backroom somewhere and switch it out and put someone else at the top of the ticket.”

A growing list of lawmakers have called on Mr. Biden to step out of the race, including Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia independent, on Sunday.

Mr. Biden and his team have been adamant that he is not dropping out of the race.

“Joe Biden has made it more than clear: He’s in this race and he’s in it to win it. Moreover, he’s the presumptive nominee — there is no plan for an alternative nominee. In a few short weeks, Joe Biden will be the official nominee,” a Biden campaign memo said after the Republican National Convention.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.