US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks to press at the White House after a meeting with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on funding the government and avoiding a shutdown in Washington D.C., United States on February 27, 2024.
Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images
The leader of the House Democratic caucus said Friday that he had met with President Joe Biden to share opinions from his caucus about “the path forward,” an apparent reference to Biden’s status as the party’s presidential nominee.
The meeting Thursday night between Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Biden came on the heels of a rare news conference by the president, who at that event insisted he would remain in the race against Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump. Jeffries earlier Thursday had said he intended to poll every member of the House caucus about their feelings on keeping Biden as the party’s nominee.
In a statement Friday, Jeffries said that in his meeting with Biden he “expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.”
As of Friday morning, 18 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race, allowing another party member to take his place as the nominee.
Biden did not arrive back at the White House from the NATO summit where he gave his news conference until just before 9 p.m. ET Thursday, which means his meeting with Jeffries likely did not begin until that same night. The timeline underscores the urgency that House Democrats view Biden’s political situation.
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