WASHINGTON – Some key House and Senate Democrats are planning meetings to discuss next week A path forward for President Joe Biden.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., will hold a virtual meeting with ranking members of the Democratic committee on Sunday, three sources told NBC News. At the meeting, President Biden is expected to face calls to step aside as the party’s nominee, one of the sources said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is organizing a group of Democratic senators to meet next week to discuss what to do amid concerns that Biden could be elected and the potential for down-ballot races in the House and Senate. Four sources familiar with the information told NBC News on Friday.
Though two House Democrats After publicly calling for Biden to drop out of the 2024 race after a disastrous debate performance last week, and others echoing those calls privately, senators have so far fired back on Biden’s future.
Warner’s office declined to comment on the meeting and did not respond to Jeffries’ request for comment.
The House committee chairmen’s meeting scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. is not part of any regularly scheduled meeting of ranking members. It comes a day before House lawmakers return to Washington after the Fourth of July holiday.
Last weekend MSNBC, Jeffries called Biden’s debate performance “underwhelming” and “flying” but said it marked a “comeback” for the president. But Jeffries has been relatively quiet about Biden in recent days, and little has leaked out of a conference call with top House Democratic leaders before the July 4 recess.
Members of Congress were on recess from Washington ahead of Biden’s debate with former President Donald Trump, and both chambers will return Monday evening.
Biden and the White House insisted he would stay in the race, the president told supporters at a rally in Wisconsin on Friday. is running and will defeat Trump in November.
Asked for comment about the meeting Warner arranged, a Biden campaign aide referred to the president’s rally in Wisconsin, specifically his remarks about staying in the race.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said in an interview with NBC News on Friday that Warner had not contacted him and that he would “not be part of” any conversation calling for Biden to step aside.
Asked if Biden was still confident he could beat Trump in November, Fetterman said: “Yes! He is the only person who beat Trump before.”
“I can’t think of a situation where panic or confusion made the situation better,” Fetterman said. “For God’s sake, some Democrats: Get a spine! Grow a pair! One or the other.”
Rebecca Kaplan, Peter Nicholas and Ryan Nobles contributed.