Biden tells Hill Democrats he won’t step aside amid partisan drama: ‘It’s time for it to end’

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden, in a letter to congressional Democratsstood firm against calls for him to abandon his candidacy and called for an end to the intraparty drama that has torn Democrats apart since his dismal performance in public debate.

Biden’s efforts to support a deeply anxious Democratic Party came Monday as lawmakers returned to Washington faced with a choice: decide whether to work to revive his campaign or try to outdo the party leader, a defining moment for his re-election and his re-election. to have future politicians.

Biden wrote in the two-page letter that “the question of how to move forward has been well discussed for over a week. And it’s time for it to end.” He emphasized that the party has “one task,” which is to defeat presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.

“We have 42 days until the Democratic Convention and 119 days until the general election,” Biden said in the letter, distributed by his re-election campaign. “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and harms us. It’s time for us to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”

Anxiety is rising as high-ranking Democratic lawmakers join calls for Biden to step aside despite his challenge. At the same time, some of the president’s staunchest supporters are redoubling their fight for Biden’s presidency, insisting that there is no one better to defeat Trump in what many consider one of the most important elections of a lifetime.

Biden followed up the letter with a phone interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” in which he insisted that “ordinary Democrats” want him to stay in the race and said he was frustrated by calls from party officials to he moved away.

“These are big names, but I don’t care what these big names think,” Biden said.

He threw down the gauntlet to his critics, saying that if they are serious, they should “advertise for president, challenge me at the convention” or unite in their support against Trump. Later, Biden joined a call with members of his national finance committee, while first lady Jill Biden campaigned for her husband in a three-state swing focused on engaging veterans and military families.

“Despite all the talk about this race, Joe has made it clear that he is all in,” she told a military crowd in Wilmington, North Carolina. “This is the decision he made, and just as he has always supported my career, I’m in too.”

Democratic voters are divided over whether Biden should remain the Democratic Party’s nominee for president or whether there should be a different Democratic nominee. according to a New York Times/Siena College survey.

More voices spoke out Monday, including House Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who was not ready to let go of Biden, saying the threat of a second Trump presidency remains too high. However, one of the most threatened Democrats this election cycle, Senator Jon Tester of Montana, said in a statement: “President Biden must prove to the American people – including me – that he is up to the job for four more years.” .

As lawmakers weigh whether Biden should stay or goThere seem to be no easy answers.

It is a tenuous and highly volatile situation for the president’s party. Democrats who have worked alongside Biden for years — if not decades — and valued his life’s work over policy priorities are now debating uncomfortable questions about his political future. And it’s happening as Biden welcomes world leaders to the NATO summit this week in Washington.

Time is not on their side, with the Democratic National Convention nearly a month away and just a week before Republicans gather in Milwaukee to rename Trump as his presidential pick. Many Democrats argue that attention needs to focus not on Biden, but on the former president’s criminal conviction in the secret and pending money case. federal charges in its effort to overturn the 2020 elections.

It is what Biden himself could call a turning point. As he defiantly says he will only step aside if the Lord Almighty comes and tells him to, Democrats in the House and Senate are deciding how much they want to fight the president to change his course, or whether they even want to change course.

In an effort to “get on the same page,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is calling lawmakers into private meetings before showing his preference, according to a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss it. He planned to bring together some Democrats whose re-election bids are most vulnerable on Monday.

A private call Sunday, including about 15 top House committee members, exposed the deepening divide, as at least four more Democrats — Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state and Rep. Mark Takano of California — said privately that Biden should step aside.

Nadler, as one of the longest-serving members of the call, was the first person to say Biden should step aside, according to a person familiar with the call who was granted anonymity to discuss it. He did so aware of his seniority and that this would enable others to join him.

Many other participants on the call raised concerns about Biden’s ability and chance of being re-elected, even if they stopped short of saying Biden should withdraw from the race.

Still other members, including Rep. Maxine Waters of California and Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, both leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, spoke vigorously in support of Biden, as did Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the top Democrat in the powerful forms. and Means Committee.

And several lawmakers appeared frustrated that leadership was not providing direction or a path forward, according to people familiar with the appeal. A Democratic lawmaker said that regardless of the decision, the situation has to “end now,” one of the people said.

Neal said afterward that the bottom line is that Biden beat Trump in 2020 and “he will do it again in November.”

The uprising is also testing this generation of leaders, led by Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Both New Yorkers have refrained from publicly guiding lawmakers on the way forward as they balance differing opinions within their ranks.

Behind the scenes is Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosiwho continues to field calls from lawmakers seeking advice on the situation and is widely seen as the one to watch for any final decision on Biden’s future due to her closeness to the president and her political vote-counting skills partisan.

Pelosi spoke out last week, saying Biden’s debate performance raised “legitimate” questions he needed to answer, but she continued to support the president. And Biden called her last week when he reached out to other party leaders.

When Biden’s ABC primetime interview on Friday appeared to do little to calm worried Democrats, and some said it made the situation worse, Pelosi stepped forward to publicly praise Biden on social media as a “great president who continues to serve America’s kitchen table. She added, “and we’re not done yet!”

Schumer has kept a low profile throughout the ordeal, but will gather Democratic senators on Tuesday for their weekly lunch, when senators are sure to express many opinions.

One Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, had intended to bring senators together on Monday to discuss Biden privately, but a person familiar with his thinking said those conversations will take place at Tuesday’s regular lunch with all Democratic senators.

Another Democrat, Senator Alex Padilla of California, said it was “time to stop worrying and go back to knocking on doors.”

Padilla spoke with Biden over the weekend and urged his campaign to “let Joe be Joe.”

“Given the debate, I think the campaign has no choice,” Padilla said Sunday, explaining that Biden needs to hold town halls and impromptu events to show voters “the Joe Biden that most people in America have come to know and love”.

While some deep-pocketed donors may be expressing discomfort, strategists working on the House and Senate races said they have seen record fundraising as donors view Democrats in Congress as a “firewall” and the last line of defense. defense against Trump.

As Democratic candidates campaign alongside Biden, the advice has been to focus on building their own brands and amplifying how the work done in Congress affects their local districts.

__

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Freking, Darlene Superville and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.