The debate over President Biden’s future has thrown Democrats into turmoil, with some urging the party to stand by the 81-year-old incumbent while a growing number of officeholders call on him to resign.
The battle is creating divisions in both the House and Senate, although no Democratic senator has so far called on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. But members of both caucuses raised serious reservations about whether he should remain at the top of the ticket.
“I have a lot of concerns and I’m not the only one. I have heard a lot of concerns from people in Minnesota. I think right now our party is having a big, robust discussion about what’s next,” said Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
But Smith acknowledged an essential fact that has not gone unnoticed by many of his Senate Democratic colleagues: The decision to stay in the race rests entirely with Biden, and trying to force it could be counterproductive.
Biden on Monday criticized party “elites” who were trying to take him out of the race.
“I’m getting so frustrated with the elites… the party elites. ‘Oh, they know so much more.’ Any of these guys who don’t think I should run run against me. Advertise for president, challenge me at the convention,” Biden declared defiantly during a surprise call to NBC’s “Morning Joe.”
That doesn’t make it clear exactly how the drama will end, since concerns about Biden’s health and ability to lead the country for another four years are unlikely to go away.
That’s bad news for Democrats because bitter infighting is likely to hurt Biden or any other candidate in the fall.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) on Monday reiterated his support for the embattled president.
“As I’ve said before, I’m for Joe,” Schumer told reporters as he entered the Capitol on Monday, ignoring follow-up questions.
However, Schumer’s caucus appears divided on how far to go in defending Biden.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), one of the most endangered Senate incumbents, said Biden must reassure voters that he is up to the job — stern advice other Democratic senators have directed at the president.
“President Biden has to prove to the American people – including me – that he is up to the job for four more years. In the meantime, I will continue to do what I have always done: stand up to President Biden when he is wrong and protect our way of life in Montana,” Tester said in a statement.
Tester appeared frustrated as he walked from the Capitol to his car on Monday, pursued by a group of reporters who peppered him with questions about how Biden’s low approval rating is affecting his own Senate race.
“Let’s stick with the statement, folks. Thank you,” he said laconically.
Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 member of Senate Democratic leadership, said Biden’s debate performance “raised a lot of questions” about his ability to serve another four years as president.
“I watched the debate and it raised many questions. He is trying to answer these questions. In some respects he did this very effectively. In other respects, not as effectively,” Durbin told reporters when asked if he has concerns about Biden’s physical or mental capacity to govern the country.
Not a single Senate Democrat, however, has called on Biden to drop his re-election bid, unlike in the House, where several senior Democratic lawmakers told Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) in a virtual meeting on Sunday that the party needs to move forward. from Biden.
Jeffries was more cautious than Schumer in defending Biden, although on Monday night he reiterated his support for the president, saying, “I made it clear the day after the debate publicly that I support President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket” and that your “position has not changed.” He wants to give his rank-and-file members a full opportunity to voice their concerns about Biden’s viability as a candidate.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who would become chairman of the House Armed Services Committee if Democrats regain the House majority, on Monday joined the growing House Democratic chorus calling for Biden to resign .
“Well, look, I think he should step aside. I think it’s clear that he’s not the best person to deliver the Democratic message,” Smith told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Smith and three other senior House Democrats, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.), Joe Morelle (DN.Y.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.), told Jeffries on Sunday’s private call that Biden needs to away, and more House Democrats are expected to do so when the full House Democratic conference meets Tuesday morning.
A decision by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) to convene a group of Democrats to talk about Biden’s future and possibly kick him out of the race fell through over the weekend. But Warner, in a statement Monday afternoon, indicated that he still supported negotiations on how to move forward.
“With so much at stake in the upcoming election, now is the time to talk about the strongest path forward,” he said in the statement.
He said Biden needs to “present his case more aggressively to the American people” and expressed his desire for the president to “hear directly from a broader group of voices about how best to prevent” Trump from returning to the White House.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has emerged as one of Biden’s strongest supporters, a useful development for the president given that Pennsylvania is a key presidential and Senate battleground state.
Fetterman and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who is running for re-election, met with Biden on the campaign trail in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Biden received another boost Monday from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D), who represents another battleground, Nevada, that is crucial to Democrats’ chances of holding the White House and Senate.
“Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination in a landslide because he fights for the workers of this country. He has always supported Nevadans, whether on the picket lines, protecting our personal freedoms or reducing costs – now it’s time for us to count on him,” Cortez Masto posted on the social media site X.
Durbin indicated that Democratic senators are having serious doubts about whether Biden will remain the presumptive nominee, although he declined to say how many colleagues want Biden replaced.
“I’m not going to discuss private conversations I’ve had with my colleagues,” he said.
But Durbin acknowledged that knocking Biden out of the race won’t be easy, given the president’s strong determination to run against and beat Trump.
“Knowing Joe as I have for 30 years or more, he has an aggressive, direct and confrontational approach. He’s not backing down. He will prove that he has the physical and mental strength to finish this campaign and win,” he stated.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
