House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met with President Biden Thursday evening when, according to a letter issued by Jeffries on Friday, they talked about a lot and decided on nothing.
“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,” Jeffries wrote to his Democratic colleagues, describing conversations in the Democratic House Caucus as “candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive.”
“As House Democrats have done throughout this Congress, we will continue to work in the best interests of everyday Americans. Thank you for your continued leadership in service of the communities we are privileged to represent.”
The letter avoids direct mentions of what Biden and Jeffries spoke about, or what the outcome of the meeting was.
Jeffries has been holding meetings with top Democrats and the Congressional Black Caucus in the weeks since Biden’s disastrous debate performance. While he’s avoided making any definitive statements, closed-door Democratic meetings have been described as “an insult to funerals,” with Jeffries absorbing various concerns about Biden’s fitness to serve, pitches for Kamala Harris to replace Biden, and declarations of support for Biden. To date, 18 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have publicly called on Biden to step aside, including four independents who caucus with Democrats. Privately, influential Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have reportedly expressed concerns about Biden’s candidacy, with Pelosi providing an explosive nonanswer on Wednesday morning about a need for Biden “to decide if he is going to run.”
Following a middling NATO press conference on Thursday evening with some oof-worthy gaffes, one Democratic operative described the state of the party to Politico as “in purgatory.” Jeffries’s letter announcing that he passed along opinions from Democrats to Biden appears to be a continuation of the party’s nonmovement, as Biden has firmly indicated he has no intention of stepping aside despite continued calls for him to do so.
