Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the minority leader, has scheduled a virtual meeting Sunday with top House Democrats to discuss President Biden’s nomination and the path forward, a senior official familiar with the plan said.
The hearing, which is set to include the top members of the House committees who make up the party’s highest echelons, comes at a time of deep concern among Democrats on Capitol Hill about Mr. Biden’s poor performance in last week’s presidential debate. House Democrats have not met as a group since then, even as concerns grow about Mr. Biden’s viability as a candidate and the impact he could have on his party’s ability to retake the chamber and hold the Senate if he remains in the race.
Mr. Jeffries has been in listening mode all week, refraining from pressuring Democrats to rally around the president but also encouraging them not to rush their public statements as Mr. Biden and his team determine the best path forward.
But Democrats are beginning to split. Four House members — Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, and Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois — have called on the president to drop out, while others have expressed serious concerns about his ability to win the race.
Mr Cogley said on Friday he had “difficulty” getting to the point of urging the president to drop out of the race.
but, He told MSNBC“The alternative now is clearly a very bleak, almost hopeless scenario — and it affects not just the White House. It affects the entire Congress and our future.”
Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, is organizing a meeting of Democrats in his chamber to discuss their concerns about Mr. Biden’s nomination and what to do next, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the efforts who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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