House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met privately with President Joe Biden on Thursday night to relay his caucus' anxieties about the president's reelection bid.
It is not clear whether Jeffries called on Biden to withdraw from the race, an outcome that many of his members are publicly and privately seeking. Jeffries told lawmakers he “directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.”
He’s held a series of listening sessions with a broad cross section of the caucus in recent days as lawmakers fretted over Biden’s candidacy and ability to serve a second term.
House Democrats — who are among the loudest voices in Washington about the potential electoral doomsday if Biden remains atop the ticket — are at a standstill as they await the next steps from their party leaders. Eighteen House Democrats have called for Biden to withdraw from the ticket, in addition to one senator.
There are also questions about whether Biden’s other Hill allies, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who has been fielding her own concerns from members about Biden’s candidacy — will speak to the president. At the same time, there are still plenty of Hill Democrats who have made clear they're sticking with Biden, and party leaders have also heard from boosters of the president like the heads of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Jeffries indicated Thursday that he planned to convene Democratic House leaders to discuss the path forward on Biden, though the timing is unclear. There are no leadership meetings scheduled and no caucus meetings on the books. The House is out of session next week, and lawmakers are scattered across the country.
After weeks of hand-wringing, both publicly and privately, many Democrats realize they are coming up against an obvious deadline: Next week’s GOP convention. Democrats are loath to let their infighting over Biden consume any oxygen as Donald Trump takes center stage in Milwaukee.
