WASHINGTON — Key Democrats in the House and Senate are planning to meet next week to discuss President Joe Biden’s path forward.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, plans to hold a virtual meeting with Democratic committee leaders on Sunday, three sources told NBC News. One of the sources said the meeting is expected to focus on President Biden, who has been urged to step down as the party’s nominee.
Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is organizing a group of Democratic senators to meet next week to discuss what to do amid concerns about Biden’s chances of winning and the potential to undermine lower-division House and Senate races, four sources familiar with the effort told NBC News on Friday.
Following Biden’s disastrous defeat in last week’s debate, two House Democrats have publicly called for him to drop out of the 2024 presidential race and others have made similar calls privately, but senators have so far refrained from commenting on Biden’s future.
Warner declined to comment on the meeting, and Jefferies did not respond to a request for comment.
The House committee leaders’ meeting, scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m., is not part of a regular meeting of ranking members and comes a day before House members are scheduled to return to Washington after their July 4 recess.
On MSNBC last weekend, Jeffries called Biden’s debate performance “disappointing” and a “setback,” but said it would be a stepping stone to a “comeback” for the president. But Jeffries has said little about Biden in recent days, and little has been leaked about his call with House Democratic leaders ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
Lawmakers have been in recess and out of Washington since before the debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump, and both chambers are scheduled to reconvene Monday evening.
Biden and the White House have insisted he will continue to campaign, and the president told supporters at a rally in Wisconsin on Friday that he will run and beat Trump in November.
Asked for comment about the meeting hosted by Warner, Biden campaign staffers referred to the president’s rally in Wisconsin, specifically his comments about continuing the campaign.
