Rep. Jerry Nadler (R-New York), who privately called on Biden to drop out of the race just two days ago, said that while he still has concerns about Biden as a presidential candidate, it’s no longer “an issue.”
“He’s going to be our nominee and we should all support him,” Nadler said.
But most House Democrats have avoided media interviews or repeatedly said they would not discuss the meeting. They had been warned not to leak information after lawmakers were shocked by public disclosure on Sunday that a private online meeting in which many lawmakers said they wanted Biden to resign.
A person familiar with House Democratic discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity to freely discuss internal dynamics, said the mood changed on Monday when more liberal members of the party, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, began saying Biden was clearly the Democratic nominee and would seek reelection.
“You couldn’t ask for anyone less supportive than The Squad,” the source said, referring to a group of progressive Democratic House members who sometimes clash with the president on politics and policy.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a surrogate for the Biden campaign, said in an interview with Washington Post Live on Tuesday that while Biden is “losing ground right now,” most agree he still has a path to win the presidency.
And Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, chair of the House Pro-Abortion Caucus, issued a statement saying Biden “still intends to serve a second term.”
“Looking ahead, it is a waste of time and potentially dangerous for Democrats to spend the next few months fidgeting trying to find an alternative path forward. President Biden has been a very successful president who protected reproductive rights, protected the environment, and defended our democratic values. [Donald] “Trump is a crazed, criminal authoritarian,” she said.
Despite the change in tone, there was still plenty of disagreement in the full session, the first time since Biden’s lackluster debate performance less than two weeks ago sparked panic among congressional Democrats that he couldn’t beat former President Trump in a November debate. And Senate Democrats may have a different opinion after their weekly lunch on Tuesday.
Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee said House Democrats “are not even on the same page, much less on the same page.”
Asked about Cohen’s comments and whether House Democrats can come together, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said, “Unanimity does not equal unity.”
“Every day, House Democrats bring different thoughts, ideas and perspectives to the House floor and we learn from them and embrace them,” he said. “Our focus is unity, we agree that Donald Trump cannot win, and we agree that to help the American people, we need Hakeem Jeffries to be speaker.”
He added: “Right now, President Biden is the nominee, and we are supporting the Democratic candidate to defeat President Donald Trump. That’s the facts. That’s what we think.”
Meanwhile, Jeffries told reporters that Tuesday’s meeting gave the caucus an opportunity to “express their views in an open and comprehensive manner.”
“Those discussions will continue throughout the week,” he said.
Several House Democrats and aides, who spoke freely about the meetings on condition of anonymity, said there remains a widespread sentiment among House Democrats and campaign strategists that Biden’s “age issue will continue to be a major hurdle.” Democrats are closely watching Biden’s campaign and any misstep could quickly change sentiment within the caucus, they said.
“They’re also worried about his decline,” one lawmaker said, referring to questions about Biden’s cognitive abilities after the debate. “There were people speaking on both sides of the issue.”
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, the first House Democrat to call on Biden to abandon his nomination, left the meeting saying his position had not changed and that there were “too many people in battleground states who are not convinced” that Biden should be the nominee.
As of Tuesday morning, a handful of House Democrats had privately or publicly called for Biden to resign, but the president has also received several significant expressions of support, including from the Congressional Black Caucus and prominent senators such as Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).
House Democrats raised several other concerns, including the logistics of switching the nominee and the possibility that Vice President Harris could take the lead instead, but those who spoke publicly about the meetings also acknowledged that there would be a push to endorse the vice president as a candidate if Biden decided to step down on his own.
Early Tuesday morning, leading House Democrats representing battleground districts met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York to discuss the future of Biden’s candidacy. Of all the groups, these House Democrats may be the most concerned about Biden’s chances of winning and how that could hurt their own race.
Biden sent a letter to all Democratic members of Congress on Monday saying he was “committed to continuing this campaign.”
Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York have publicly defended Mr. Biden, successfully quelling much of the unsettling opposition among his own party, some of whom worry that Mr. Biden cannot beat Mr. Trump and that this could affect their ability to retake the House and maintain the Senate majority in November.
Jeffries said Monday his “position hasn’t changed” in support of Biden, and Schumer told reporters Monday simply: “As I’ve said before, I support Joe.”
No sitting senator has publicly called on the president to drop out of the race, but some have urged Biden to do more to certify he can beat Trump in November’s election.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Senate president pro tempore, said Monday that Biden needs to be “more forceful and energetic” to show he can mount a strong enough campaign to beat Trump.
“There are cases that need to be prosecuted against Donald Trump, and President Biden must be at the forefront of bringing them,” she said. She praised Biden for delivering a “historic” first term but called for him to be more aggressive.
“We need to see a more dynamic and energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the near future who can convince voters he’s worthy of the job,” Murray said. “At this critical time for our country, President Biden must seriously consider how best to protect and preserve his incredible legacy.”
Sen. Mark R. Warner, a Virginia Democrat who last week tried to organize a caucus of Democratic senators to urge Biden to stop campaigning, made clear on Monday that he remains concerned about the viability of Biden’s campaign.
“With so much at stake in the next election, now is the time to discuss the strongest path forward,” Warner said in a statement. “As these conversations continue, I believe the President has an obligation to reach out more forcefully to the American people and listen directly to a broader range of voices about how we can best prevent President Trump’s lawlessness from returning to the White House.”
Other candidates, such as Sanders, were more staunch in their support of Biden.
“What we need to do is put forward policies that contrast what Biden stands for with what Trump stands for, and then I think Biden will be able to do well,” Sanders told CNN on Monday night.
Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, Democrats of all ideological stripes, including progressives, moderates, Hispanics and black Democrats, continued to support Biden. The party has repeatedly insisted that he is its de facto nominee and will work to see him win in November.
“He’s the nominee,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I’m focused on making sure we win in November.”
“At the end of the day, he’s our nominee for now until he’s not our nominee,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, chair of the House Progressive Caucus, “and I don’t think we should be doing Trump and the Republicans’ dirty work instead.”
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers, Biden said he had “extensively spoken” with party leaders, lawmakers, members and voters about “their sincere fears and concerns about what is at stake in this election.”
“I’m not ignorant of what they’re saying,” he said. “I can answer all of this clearly and without question: If I didn’t absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024, I would not be running again.”
Theodoric Meyer, Abbie Cheeseman, Liz Goodwin and Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed to this report.
