House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries plans to convey his caucus’ growing concerns about Biden’s campaign directly to the president, multiple sources confirmed to CBS News.
“We’ve been having frank, calm and comprehensive conversations with the House Democratic caucus all week, and that’s the focus of our work today and tomorrow, and we’ll see where it goes from there,” Jeffries told CBS News as he left the House chamber on Wednesday. CNN first reported Jeffries’ plans to approach the president.
Jeffries’ plan comes as the number of House Democrats publicly urging Biden to withdraw from the nomination rises to 18, with Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Congressman Pat Ryan of New York“I’m calling on Joe Biden to step aside” in the next election “to fulfill his promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leadership,” said Vermont Democrat Peter Welch, the first senator to call on the president to drop out of the race.
“We cannot forget President Biden’s disastrous debate performance,” Welch wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. “We cannot ignore or dismiss the legitimate questions that have been raised since that night.”
Jeffries has been listening to various factions of the Democratic caucus for more than a week. On Wednesday, he met with a group of battleground state Democrats and the New Democrat Coalition, a person familiar with the meetings confirmed to CBS News. He also attended a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus. He met this week with leaders of the Progressive Caucus, two congressional aides said.
Democratic leader Jeffries described his conversations with his colleagues as “family discussions” and, when asked if Biden was part of that family, replied: “We are separate and equal players in government, and on behalf of the people we represent, we have the right and the responsibility to negotiate for ourselves the way forward in the best interests of the American people.”
Asked how and when Democratic leaders would convey their caucus’ views to the president, one Democratic aide said only: “By Friday.” Another source said one motivation for wrapping up talks this week is that House members plan to tour districts and travel next week. Jeffries declined to give a specific timeline.
Democratic congressional aides said Biden’s top advisers are not scheduled to meet with House Democrats, but senators are expected to hear from them on Thursday. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Wednesday that her caucus still plans to meet with Biden and that she expects details about a date and time to be known this week.
“At the end of the day, he’s our candidate and I don’t want to do any damage to our candidate,” Jayapal told CBS News. “I’m going to continue to evaluate myself on where we are, where my district is and where the country is.”
Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said Tuesday that her caucus has requested a meeting or call with the president. Black Caucus This likely has something to do with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. She has not yet received a response.
The president told congressional Democrats letter While Trump said this week he is “firmly committed” to running, some Democrats in Congress still suggest he is deciding whether to continue his campaign and is undecided about whether he will continue to run as a presidential candidate.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy PelosiAsked Wednesday morning whether he had her backing to lead the nomination effort, Biden deferred to her, saying the decision on whether to run was “up to the president.”
“We’re all urging him to make a decision,” she said on MSNBC, “because time is running out.”
