- Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries both spoke with Joe Biden about the consequences of staying in the presidential race.
- They shared concerns about Biden's impact on down-ballot elections.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had a "blunt one-on-one conversation" with President Joe Biden on Saturday, as reported by ABC News' chief Washington correspondent, Jonathan Karl. The Washington Post and Axios quickly published similar reports.
The conversation topic? Biden's impact on other Democrats running in November.
I am told Chuck Schumer had a blunt one-on-one conversation with Biden Saturday afternoon in Rehoboth. Schumer forcefully made the case that it would be best if Biden bowed out of the race.
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) July 17, 2024
Schumer's office wouldn't comment on the specifics of the conversation, telling me only,…
Schumer's office offered this response to the reporting: "Unless ABC's source is Senator Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden the reporting is idle speculation. Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday."
His office didn't immediately respond to a follow-up question from Business Insider about whether the message from his caucus was to drop out of the race.
The Post and ABC also reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had a similar conversation with Biden on Thursday.
The Post reported that the two Democratic leaders voiced their members' concerns that his candidacy could negatively impact down-ballot races and cost them the House and Senate.
Later on Wednesday night, CNN reported that Rep. Nancy Pelosi, House speaker emerita, spoke with Biden sometime in the past week, telling him that polling showed he'd lose to Trump and that he could hurt the Democrats' chances in Congress. CNN cited four people familiar with the conversation.
Only one senator, Peter Welch, has publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race. Sen. Michael Bennet, however, has said publicly that he doesn't believe Biden can win.
On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who is running for the Senate, became the highest-profile Democrat to call for the president to drop out of the race.
Reports say Pelosi has been working behind the scenes to get Biden to drop out.
There has been increasing pressure for Biden, 81, to bow out and have Democrats select a nominee at the convention in August following his disastrous debate performance last month and a series of public appearances and interviews that haven't been able to reassure his base.
Publicly, Biden has been adamant that he's not dropping out of the race. But CNN reported Wednesday that a senior Democratic advisor said that Biden was being "receptive" in conversations with members of Congress about dropping out and that the president was "not as defiant as he is publicly."
"He's gone from saying, 'Kamala can't win,' to 'Do you think Kamala can win?'" the advisor said, according to CNN. "It's still unclear where he's going to land but seems to be listening."
When contacted for comment, the Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said, "If the facts matter — and they should — here is one: President Biden is the Democratic nominee and he is going to win this November."