WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) —
Democrats on Capitol Hill met privately Tuesday at a crucial moment for President Joe Biden and their party, with tensions running high over the extraordinary question of whether to keep standing behind his re-election or push the president to step aside amid concerns over his ability to lead them to victory.
Democratic House members met at party headquarters – no cellphones, no leaks — for what party leaders billed as just a “family” discussion. But one Democrat in the room said the mood was “dour” as lawmakers discussed their party leader, who emphatically refuses to bow out and implored them in a sharply worded letter to refocus from him to the threat posed by Republican Donald Trump.
Biden’s supporters are emerging as the most vocal, and at least one key Democrat reversed course to publicly support the president. But no consensus was in sight as dissent runs strong. Senate Democrats met next, Biden’s political future was the remarkable matter in question.
“We had a caucus meeting today that gave members an opportunity to express themselves in a candid and comprehensive fashion,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, “and those discussions will continue throughout the balance of the week.”
It’s a remarkable moment for the president and his party with Democrats in Congress seriously questioning Biden’s place at the top of the ticket, weeks before the Democratic National Convention to nominate him for a second term.
In the private House meeting Tuesday, there was a growing concern that Biden remaining in the race means that the election will center around his age issues instead of Trump, according to the person in the room.
At least 20 Democratic lawmakers stood up to speak in what for many is an existential moment for their country considering a second Trump presidency.
Most of those who spoke wanted Biden to step aside, said another person familiar with the meeting and granted anonymity discuss it.
Among them was Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who leads a contingent of military veterans in the House and is among the six Democrats who have publicly called for Biden to step aside.
Still others set aside their private concerns in order to back Biden, for now. “He said he’s going to remain in, he’s our candidate, and we’re going to support him,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, who over the weekend was among those privately saying Biden needed to step aside.
Many Democrats worry that not only is the presidency in jeopardy but also their own down-ballot races for control of the House and Senate — and the party’s ability to stop Trump and the conservative Project 2025 agenda with its plans to weaken the federal government.
“He just has to step down because he can’t win,” said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill.
Quigley said, “The fighting spirit and pride and courage that served the country so well four years ago, that helped Joe Biden win, will bring the ticket down this time.”
Some are turning more serious attention to Vice President Kamala Harris as their alternative.
Rep. Jared Huffman of California who is leading the House Democrats’ task force fighting Project 2025, said Democrats need to get back to confronting Trump and they can win this election with Biden at the top of the ticket.
But he said if Biden’s decision to stay on changes “that’s not the end of the world, in my view.”
“I think we’ve got an excellent next up in the vice president. She’s good, and she’s ready to go.”
Huffman said Democrats, unlike their House GOP counterparts, can “have principled disagreements without fighting like ferrets in a phone booth.”
Senate Democrats, too, were meeting Tuesday as leaders, including Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, say Biden needs to show Americans he can capably run for reelection at this critical moment for the country.
While at least six House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to end his candidacy, Senate Democrats have held their concerns closer to the vest. No Senate Democrat has publicly called for Biden to step side.
Republicans face their own history-making political situation, poised to nominate a former president who is the first ever to be convicted of a felony — in a hush money case — and who faces federal criminal indictments, including the effort to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Biden.
After a slow initial response to Biden’s dismal debate, the White House and campaign team are working more furiously now to end the drama in part by gathering the president’s most loyal supporters to speak out.
The president met virtually late Monday with the Congressional Black Caucus, whose members are core to Biden’s coalition, thanking them for having his back, and assuring them he would have theirs in a second term. He was also to meet with the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose leaders have said publicly they are sticking with the president.
One member of party leadership, Rep. Lori Trahan, said in a statement Wednesday that she has been meeting with Biden voters in her Massachusetts district who have “real concerns” about his ability to beat Trump. “I share those concerns,” she said.
But Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an leader in the Congressional Black Caucus, said that the party is united behind Biden as their nominee.
Rep. Steven Cohen, D-Tenn., was asked if Democrats were on the same page after the nearly two-hour session and responded, “We are not even in the same book.”
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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.