Democrats on Capitol Hill are rallying — comfortably or otherwise — around the idea of keeping President Biden as their 2024 nominee, despite a disastrous debate performance last month that led to calls for him to withdraw.
At a private meeting of the House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday, an overwhelming majority of lawmakers voiced their support for the president, with some praising his leadership qualities and others simply acknowledging the reality that primary voters have already made him the nominee. inevitable.
On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Democrats expressed their own concerns about Biden’s chances against former President Trump during a closed-door lunch, but none called for him to be replaced as the nominee.
And at least one Democratic lawmaker who had previously opposed Biden’s candidacy, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), reversed course on Tuesday.
The combination suggests that nearly two weeks after Biden’s shaky debate performance, the tide is beginning to turn for the president, who has been fiercely defiant in rejecting any hint that he has dropped out of the race due to questions about his age, health and ability to defeat Trump. in November.
“It’s certainly a better day than some he’s had before,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.). “It’s moving in the right direction.”
“I feel like we have reached a turning point,” repeated Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.). “It’s been about 10, 11 days since the debate and it’s time to move on. And I think that’s where a lot more members are today than they were last week.”
Biden also secured the support of key veteran lawmakers and major constituencies in the House. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former Democratic majority leader, said he still “absolutely” supports the president. Dozens of members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus have said they will support Biden through November. And Rep. James Clyburn (D.C.), who left the door open to a run for Vice President Harris, told reporters that Biden has vast support in the caucus.
“We are riding with Biden,” Clyburn said after the House meeting.
But Biden may not be safe after his debate performance last month raised immediate alarms that the president, despite a strong legislative record, is simply incapable of promoting that record on the campaign trail.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), hours after the Democrats’ morning meeting, issued a statement saying she simply does not have confidence in Biden’s ability to defeat Trump at the polls.
“The risks are too high – and the threat is too real – to remain silent,” she said in a statement.
She became the seventh House Democrat to speak out publicly against keeping Biden at the top of the ticket, joining Reps. Mike Quigley (Ill.), Lloyd Doggett (Texas) and Seth Moulton (Mass.), who spoke out during political convention meeting.
Meanwhile, in the Upper Chamber, no senator called for Biden to resign. But Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a member of the Democratic leadership, said Monday that “we need to see a much stronger and more energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the very near future so that [Biden] to convince voters that he is up to the job.”
And a person familiar with the Senate discussion said the “vast majority” of senators who spoke at the meeting expressed serious concerns about Biden’s ability to defeat Trump after his disastrous debate performance.
However, these voices still constitute a minority of Democrats overall. And the clearest evidence that the sands may be shifting in Biden’s favor — at least for the moment — came from Nadler, who expressed reservations Sunday about keeping Biden at the top of the ticket during a phone call with top Democrats but has since changed his tune. . Tune in Tuesday to support the president.
“Whether I have concerns or not is beside the point,” Nadler told reporters before the meeting. “He will be our nominee and we all have to support him.”
The move came after days in which Biden and his team moved aggressively to suppress any internal dissent and prevent the slow trickle of Democratic detractors from turning into an irrepressible flood.
On Monday, Biden sent a spirited letter to congressional Democrats promising to stay in the race and calling for an “end” to calls for his ouster. He also called out MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to challenge his Democratic detractors to try to vote him out at the convention. And hours later, he hosted a conference call with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, perhaps his strongest base of support, with promises to prioritize some of his pet issues in a second term.
Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), a Biden supporter, said he was encouraged by the “focus, energy and vigor” demonstrated by the heightened outreach efforts.
“The president is coming out fighting — fighting back with some energy,” he said. “This is exactly what we need to do. Because the mistake made in 2016 was: running a discreet campaign and running so as not to lose. And that’s how we lost.”
Biden has also won support from prominent liberal lawmakers.
“I spoke to the president over the weekend. I’ve been talking to him a lot. He made it clear then — and has made it clear since — that he is in this race,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) told reporters Monday night.
“The matter is closed.”
Christy Setzer, a Democratic strategist and veteran campaign operative, said Biden’s tactical — and so far largely successful — search for support in Congress is leaving his critics with few options.
“President Biden showed this week that in addition to being a masterful negotiator, he knows Congress better than anyone,” Setzer said. “Blocking simultaneous support from the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Squad left his detractors with few places to go.”
Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, who served as executive director of the New York State Democratic Party, was more blunt: “The raw politics and Biden-style defiance of critics forced everyone to get in line.”
“He has made enough friends throughout his career to count on their support,” he added.
However, gaps in this support still remain.
In addition to the seven House Democrats who have already publicly called for Biden to resign, many others have expressed these sentiments privately but are awaiting the arrival of post-debate polls before making any public statements.
Fueling these concerns, the nonpartisan Cook Political Reporton Tuesday shifted the presidential race in five states and one district in the Republican Party’s direction.
In another sign of more potential headwinds for Biden, Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), co-chair of the House Democrats’ messaging arm, released a statement shortly after the morning meeting that raised concerns about the president’s pursuit of a Second term.
“[S]Since the debate, I have met with fellow Biden voters in Massachusetts who have real concerns about the President’s ability to defeat Donald Trump. I share these concerns,” she wrote. “While President Biden has made it clear that he feels he is the best candidate to win this election, nothing that has happened over the last twelve days suggests that voters see things the same way.”
Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who is running for Senate in the Garden State, told the New Jersey Globe that he remains “concerns” about Biden’s fitness and said there is still enough time for Democrats to make “a change” if needs to be.
Even Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, appeared to leave the door open for Biden’s replacement. Asked whether Biden has done enough to assuage Democrats’ concerns, the No. 3 House Democrat suggested the president still has a lot of work to do to show voters that the debate was just a bad night and that he still has the energy and acuity to lead. the debate. country for another four years.
“My answer is, you know, we’ll see,” Aguilar said.
“Let’s watch the press conference. Let’s see the campaign stop. We will look at all of this, because everything will be necessary,” she added. “The president knows he didn’t perform well in the debate. He knows he has to be present in popular districts, in communities, in these difficult states. He knows that and that’s what we’ll see in the coming days and weeks.”
Caroline Vakil, Aris Folley and Alexander Bolton contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
