Inside the House Democrats' Discontent Regarding Biden

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has promised Democrats he will relay their concerns about the 2024 election to President Joe Biden, signaling to the White House that two weeks of damage-control efforts have failed to ease his caucus’ alarm about his age and catastrophic debate performance.

Jeffries has faced pressure from his fellow House Democrats to take action — one way or another. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also been fielding messages from colleagues, according to people familiar with the conversations, and in a Wednesday television interview she declined to express affirmative support for Biden’s campaign.

“I understand Democratic leaders feel they have to be with him,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who is among roughly a dozen Democrats who’ve come out against Biden on the ticket. “But I also know that he’s conveying the wide range of concerns from the broad, diverse members of the caucus to the White House.”

It is not clear when either Jeffries or Pelosi might speak with Biden directly. In an ABC News interview last week, Biden declined to say what he would do if congressional leaders approached him with a message that his persistence in the race would cost them control of the House and Senate.

Morale among congressional Democrats is miserably low, and there is a mood of profound pessimism about Biden’s ability to carry Democrats to victory in November. Several up-and-coming Democrats in Congress have called on Biden to drop his campaign this week, including Reps. Pat Ryan of New York and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey.

But the president has influential allies in the House, including respected leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus who have warned the party against making an abrupt move against a president who garnered overwhelming support from Black voters in his previous campaign. Those Black Caucus leaders are also some of Jeffries’ biggest supporters.

Lawmakers looking for guidance from Jeffries on how to proceed have not received much of it. The leader’s allies say it’s in his nature to meticulously survey the caucus before attempting to set a specific direction. But they also acknowledge there’s no easy way for him to resolve the divisions in the party.

“Either way he loses,” said one Democratic lawmaker close to Jeffries, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

A spokesperson for Jeffries declined to comment for this story, citing the private discussions.

The pressure on Jeffries to address those rifts has grown by the day, as new signs of frustration, backbiting and panic have continued to emerge. Closed-door and public critiques of Biden’s future have infuriated Biden’s supporters in the Capitol.

“I just wish they wouldn’t beat up on [him],” said Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.). “You don’t tackle your own quarterback, ... it’s really stupid.”

Frustrations have been running particularly high as Democrats feel that their remarks from private meetings and phone calls over the last two weeks have been made public. And in a move that surprised many Democrats, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) admitted — and apologized — to fellow senior Democrats that his office played a role in leaking part of what was said on a weekend phone call about Biden’s future on the ticket.

Takano, who is the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs panel, said in a message to a group of senior members, obtained by POLITICO, that one of his staff members shared a screenshot about Wild’s remarks with a reporter, who then used the information without permission. He apologized in person to Democrats at Wednesday’s whip meeting, as well.

Takano himself is one of roughly a dozen Democrats who have said Biden should drop out of the race — including eight publicly. Among those who want Biden out, there’s no organized effort behind their push, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The list of boot-Biden Democrats transcends both ideology and generations. Some members of the “Squad,” such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have vocally stuck behind Biden, while more senior members like Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who is on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus, have taken the opposite approach.

A handful of lawmakers in the centrist New Democratic Coalition also met with Jeffries Wednesday to discuss how having Biden at the top of the ticket could impact incumbents in battleground districts.

Many in the party say they are waiting on Jeffries to give firmer direction on the way forward — either steering the caucus to come together or taking a forceful step himself to boot Biden and save the House.

Jeffries and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) have repeatedly said they support Biden. But other party leaders have raised eyebrows in recent days with less-than-full-throated endorsements of Biden. Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the No. 3 Democrat, left some ambiguity when asked about the president — voicing his support but also indicating he wanted to see more from him.

“Let’s see the press conference,” Aguilar said, referring to Biden’s NATO press conference on Thursday. “Let’s see the campaign stops and see all of this because all of it is going to be necessary.”

Another key group has been Jeffries’ closest allies, the Black Caucus, which has come out strong for Biden after his debate performance and bought the president some breathing room in the party.

Biden privately huddled with the Black Caucus last Friday as he started to hear out Democratic lawmakers’ concerns, and the group has ramped up its own internal discussions on a path forward. The influential bloc met privately with Biden on Monday night and held a separate political meeting on Tuesday night. They’ve also been a key source of support for Jeffries as some of his earliest boosters and closest advisers in the House.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), a former chair of the bloc, said at their meeting Tuesday night that their current Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) “did a great job of laying out” to the caucus why it would be difficult to change presidential nominees.

Asked why the Black Caucus was playing the role of vocal Biden defenders during the party crisis, Horsford, who represents a purple district, replied: “We’re the conscience of the Congress.”

“The CBC has looked at President Biden’s record, we looked at the Biden-Harris administration record, because I remind folks, it’s not one person, it’s an entire team, and they have delivered to the Black community,” said Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), the whip of the Black Caucus.

But another minority group, the Asian Pacific American Caucus, feels left out of the conversation.

“We are concerned that he is not taking our views into account and we wonder what’s going on with this lack of response,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), the chair of that bloc who has voiced concerns about Biden’s candidacy. “That is part of this process of making a decision for us.”

Democrats can agree on one thing: They need a clear solution well before the Democratic convention in a month.

“I think we’ve got to do something fast, whether ... he decides to run or not. I think tomorrow’s press conference — a lot of people are watching that to see how that turns out,” said Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.).

AP TROIB News