Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has been at odds with President Biden over running for president in 2024, telling the president in a private conversation over the weekend that he would be better off dropping out of the race. ABC News reported. Wednesday.
The reported meeting, coupled with reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) privately suggested that Biden’s continued campaigning could hurt lower-level elections, signals growing pressure on the president following his disastrous debate defeat against former President Trump last month.
Senator Schumer, who has publicly voiced his support for Biden in the aftermath of the debate, met with the president on Saturday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, ABC News reported, citing multiple “highly-placed Democratic sources.” During the meeting, Senator Schumer had a “frank conversation” with Biden, explaining why it would be best for him to withdraw from the race, ABC reported.
Asked to comment on the report, a spokesman for Schumer said he “conveyed the caucus’ views directly to the president” last Saturday but declined to provide further details.
“Unless ABC’s source is Sen. Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden, the report is pure speculation,” a spokesman for Schumer said.
Politico later reported: During the meeting, Schumer, citing people close to him, conveyed to Biden his concerns about Democratic losses in November.
“The meeting discussed recent polls and the Democratic Party and its direction,” the source told Politico, adding that the discussion was based on recent issues facing the president.
A Senate Democratic source told The Hill earlier this month that Schumer had confided to several of his Senate colleagues that he had serious doubts about Biden’s ability to beat Trump, but recognized that the decision on whether to continue the campaign was ultimately up to the president.
Senate aides said at the time that Schumer told colleagues he didn’t want to publicly question Biden’s viability as a nominee because it could intimidate the president and hurt lower-ranking Democrats in the fall elections.
Like Schumer, Jeffries has publicly endorsed Biden and “the Democratic nominee,” but in a private meeting with Biden last week, Jeffries urged the president to step down, ABC News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
of The Washington Post reported. In separate meetings Wednesday evening, the two leaders similarly expressed concerns about how Biden’s candidacy could hurt Democrats seeking to win congressional majorities and make it easier for Republicans to push through their legislative priorities, the report said, citing four unnamed people briefed on the talks.
Jeffries’ office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
A spokesman for Jeffries pointed ABC to a July 12 letter Jeffries sent to House Democrats in which he said he had spoken privately with Biden the night before. In the letter, Jeffries said he had given his colleagues the “full picture” of the thinking he had heard within his party.
The meeting, disclosed in a letter to colleagues on Friday morning, came after Jeffries had spoken with numerous House Democrats in the two weeks since last month’s debate, which raised concerns about Biden’s viability as a top presidential candidate. The meeting took place after Biden’s big news conference that evening, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill at the time.
Asked about the president’s discussions with Schumer and Jeffries, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Biden “told them I am the nominee of my party, I intend to win, and I look forward to working with them to pass a 100-day package to help working families.”
Following Biden’s poor performance in the debate, many House Democrats, including Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont), have publicly called on Biden to withdraw. Early Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) became one of the most prominent officials to call for Biden to withdraw.
Biden has acknowledged his poor performance in the debate but maintains he plans to continue his campaign and can beat Trump at the November vote.
Brett Samuels, Michael Schnell and Alexander Bolton contributed reporting.
