House Dems’ ‘sad’ venting session yields no clear path forward on Biden’s future

House Democrats spent Tuesday morning privately venting to each other about President Joe Biden's future. It left them no closer to resolving the split that has consumed their party.

In a closed-door caucus meeting hosted at Democrats' campaign headquarters, increasingly distressed Democrats spoke candidly to each other for the first time since Biden's unnerving debate performance. Several lawmakers who have already called for Biden to step aside made their case, provoking a larger block of the caucus that believes Democrats need to stay united behind the president, according to about a half-dozen members in the room.

“It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Biden-backer Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), who called the president's critics a “circular firing squad.”

Closely watched House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opened the private meeting with remarks about unity, according to one member, who interpreted those comments as support for Biden. But the New Yorker said little the rest of the meeting, allowing members to spend most of the time speaking to each other on open mics. Another person briefed on the meeting, granted anonymity to discuss private matters, described the mood as "sad and frustrated."

Jeffries’ message, according to Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), was to “stay together” and “listen to each other."

Many Democrats had hoped the meeting might provide some clarity on a path forward for the party, as lawmakers have grappled with which choice would be worse for their November prospects: sticking with Biden or tossing him aside. The continued state of limbo has exacerbated internal frustrations, as members worry their chances of both flipping the House and keeping twice-impeached Donald Trump out of the White House are growing worse.

“Democrats are waking up to the fact that we're going to have a very tough election, and it doesn't matter who our nominee is. This is going to be a dogfight in November,” said Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.), who is strongly backing Biden. “The candidate that the voters chose is who we have as a candidate.”

Asked about whether Democrats had reached a consensus on a path forward, Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) said: “I think that's hard to tell. You’re gonna get people on both sides that are getting up to speak. So I don't think that there was a general consensus.”

Democrats who tried to argue that Biden should step down from the ticket included Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), who later told reporters he is concerned about Biden “dragging the ticket down.” All three have already publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race.

Still, most of the voices at the meeting were in support of the president. But the internal divide was on full display — and many more are still harboring private doubts.

Senate Democrats had their own family meeting Tuesday afternoon, where they didn't appear to have any more luck charting a path forward. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer left that discussion still saying: "I'm with Joe." Several other senators have voiced their concerns about Biden’s electability, but no Democratic senators have called on Biden to step aside.

Meanwhile, Biden and his top aides have stepped up their efforts to quell dissent on the Hill in recent days, making a flurry of calls to lawmakers all meant to send a single message: Biden is staying in the race no matter what.

The president has personally called more than 20 Democratic members, a campaign official said, and traveled with a handful of lawmakers during weekend trips to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. On Monday night, he met virtually with the Congressional Black Caucus — his deepest well of support in the Capitol. The group has remained some of Biden’s closest allies amid broader questions about his candidacy.

“My personal takeaway is that Joe Biden has tremendous support from the Democratic caucus, and we're going to move forward,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), a senior member of the Black Caucus.

Senior aide Steve Ricchetti, who serves as a frequent liaison to Hill leadership, has taken a lead role in the White House’s efforts to tamp down lawmakers’ doubts, said a person familiar with the matter, who was granted anonymity to discuss the private outreach. The White House’s legislative affairs office has also been involved in the full-court press.

The fresh outreach, which followed complaints from Democrats frustrated by the administration’s initial post-debate response, has at least temporarily succeeded in heading off a broader rebellion. Most critically for Biden’s political survival, Democrats said, has been his ability to retain the public support of congressional leaders like Jeffries and Schumer.

The CBC’s enthusiastic support for Biden on Monday night was also seen as a critical indicator that even if some Democratic leaders did want to replace him, their efforts would slam into the objections of 50-plus lawmakers representing a core element of the Democratic electorate.

“No one’s going to go against one of the biggest factions in the party,” said one Democratic operative and adviser to several lawmakers, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “The leadership is frozen.”

Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.