House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) met with President Biden Thursday night to relay the sentiments of the House Democratic Caucus regarding his reelection bid, as concerns grow within the ranks about the incumbent’s ability to beat former President Trump in November.
The meeting — revealed in a letter to colleagues Friday morning — came after Jeffries spoke with a large swath of House Democrats in the two weeks since last month’s debate, which prompted concerns about Biden’s viability at the top of the presidential ticket.
Jeffries said he passed along the “full breadth” of thoughts he heard within his caucus.
“On behalf of the House Democratic Caucus, I requested and was graciously granted a private meeting with President Joe Biden. That meeting occurred yesterday evening,” Jeffries said.
“In my conversation with President Biden, I 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 added.
Jeffries did not offer any specifics on those sentiments, nor did he share his personal perspective regarding Biden’s re-election bid. He is seen as one of the veteran Democratic figures who would have the ear of the president if they believed he should step aside.
The meeting came the same night as Biden’s high-stakes press conference, which was convened to cap off the NATO summit, but was also intended to allay concerns among Democratic lawmakers — and voters — about Biden’s ability to remain the party’s nominee. The president fielded questions for roughly 50 minutes in an appearance that prompted mixed reactions, with some lauding his handling of foreign policy and national security issues and others highlighting a pair of gaffes that may have overshadowed the evening.
Four House Democrats have urged Biden to bow out since Thursday night’s high-stakes press conference — Reps. Jim Himes (Conn.), Scott Peters (Calif.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.) and Brittany Pettersen (Colo.) — bringing the total number of Democrats in the lower chamber publicly encouraging him to withdraw to 17. Sen. Peter Welch (Vt.) is the only Democrat in the upper chamber to publicly urge Biden to step aside thus far.
Jeffries has been brief in his comments since Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month, during which he stumbled over his words and at times appeared to lose his train of thought.
The showing prompted calls within the party for Biden to step aside, which have only grown since. Biden, however, has been adamant that he plans to remain in the race.
Jeffries told reporters the day of the debate that he did not think Biden should step aside, but hours later, he was coy when asked if the president is the most effective communicator to relay the party’s message.
“Until he articulates a way forward in terms of his vision for America at this moment, I’m gonna reserve comment about anything relative to where we are at this moment other than to say I stand behind the ticket,” he said.
Since then, Jeffries has consistently told reporters that the Caucus is having “candid, comprehensive and clear-eyed” conversations, without revealing details.
“Until that process has concluded, I'm not going to address what any outside stakeholders may have to say about this matter,” he added.
Updated at 11:30 a.m.
