REHOBOTH, DEL — President Biden spoke to progressive lawmakers Saturday, asking them for help and advice as he works to shore up support for his re-election bid amid growing calls for him to leave office.
“I’ll be in Las Vegas next week and I’ll need your help and advice on how we should do what I’m going to do there. We want to make sure we have a closer working relationship because we are in this together,” Biden said during his virtual meeting with the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), according to a source familiar with the call.
The source added that the president shared with the PCC that he has a “major” reform policy for the Supreme Court on the way.
“I mean, if this guy wins, he won’t win, and now, especially with the Supreme Court giving him this kind of latitude of — I don’t need to get into the Supreme Court right now — anyway, but I need your help,” he told PCC, referring to former President Trump. “I need your advice and I want to make sure we have a closer working relationship because we are in this together. You were always the ones who stood out.”
He then answered the group’s questions. The president is in Rehoboth, Del., over the weekend and has been on calls with lawmakers from his beach house.
CPC Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) said after the meeting that the conversation was “productive and engaging” and that caucus members shared their concerns with the president.
“The President has been a champion for workers and families across the country and throughout his term, and we are proud to partner with him in passing important legislation to cut costs and raise wages. We spoke candidly with the President about our concerns and asked difficult questions about the path forward,” she said in a statement.
Jayapal added that members appreciated Biden’s “willingness to carefully answer and address” questions.
“As a group, we will continue to work to do everything in our power to defeat Donald Trump and advance our Agenda of Proposals – a day one list of popular and populist policies to deliver to the people,” she said.
After that call, Biden spoke with members of the New Democratic Coalition, a centrist group of lawmakers that includes several members who have called for Biden to step aside as a candidate.
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.
He spoke Friday with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) in meetings organized by each group’s campaign arm. And he spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) on Thursday night.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
