President Biden met Friday with a trio of Democratic groups, his latest action on Capitol Hill as he tries to quell unrest within the party over his candidacy.
Biden spoke with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in meetings organized by each group’s campaign arm. He was also scheduled to speak to members of the New Democratic Coalition, a centrist group of lawmakers that includes several members who have called for Biden to step down as the nominee.
That meeting is scheduled for tomorrow virtually, while Biden is in Rehoboth Beach, Del., according to a source familiar with it.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the meetings, which took place before the president’s planned campaign trip to Michigan.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus leaders supported Biden even as some House Democrats said he should drop out of the race.
“I can say that my conversations with CHC member meetings have been very positive,” said Rep. Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, on Monday.
“I support the president,” she added. “I’m not here to talk about a percentage of the risk. I support the president. I think he can win, he did.”
Several members of New Democrat Coalition they said Biden should step aside, including on Thursday night.
Friday’s meetings came after Biden spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) on Thursday night. Jeffries said he conveyed the feelings of the House Democratic Caucus regarding Biden’s re-election bid.
“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insights, candid perspectives, and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus shared in our recent time together,” he added.
Jeffries did not elaborate on these feelings, nor did he share his personal perspective regarding Biden’s re-election bid.
Biden has been slowly losing support on Capitol Hill this week, with new lawmakers coming forward daily to urge the president to step down as the nominee. The calls for change followed Biden’s disastrous performance in the June 27 debate, when he struggled to conclude his thoughts or take any major jabs at former President Trump.
Eighteen Democrats in Congress have publicly called on Biden to step down as the nominee, while several others have expressed concerns about his ability to defeat Trump in November.
Despite these concerns, the president has insisted he is the best man for the job and rejected calls to end his candidacy.
“There’s a long way to go in this campaign,” Biden said at a news conference on Thursday. “Then I’ll keep walking. Keep moving and because, I have more work to do.”
The president is moving forward with campaign events in the coming days as he seeks to reinvigorate his re-election bid.
Biden will be in the key battleground state of Michigan on Friday to campaign with supporters in Detroit. On Monday, he will travel to Texas to deliver remarks focused on civil rights and for an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt. Biden will also participate in NAACP and UnidosUS events in Nevada next week.
Mychael Schnell contributed
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
