Despite reports that Senate Democrats planned on meeting Monday to discuss President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign, a source has confirmed that the huddle was canceled.
Axios first reported that Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) was behind the meeting efforts. However, sources cited by Axios said that Warner’s meeting was never scheduled because the idea of the meeting was leaked.
The report shared that without the ability to meet privately and discreetly, senators opted not to meet at all.
The source did not confirm what would have been discussed in the huddle, but they did share that Warner had not taken a position on Biden’s reelection bid.
However, a report from The Hill, which cited two sources earlier this week, said that Warner had been building support among Democrats to ask Biden to drop out of the race.
The report said that Democrats were growing worried that Biden’s candidacy would pose a risk to Democrat seats.
The Washington Post also reported on this last week, though a spokesperson for Warner’s office refused to confirm the reporting.
“Like many other people in Washington and across the country, Sen. Warner believes these are critical days for the president’s campaign, and he has made that clear to the White House,” the spokesperson told the Post in a statement.
President Joe Biden has addressed the reports during his sit-down interview with ABC News while campaigning in Wisconsin. Biden said that Warner was a “good man.”
“Mark and I have a different perspective. I respect him,” Biden said.
Despite growing concern among those in his party and calls for him to step down from nearly a dozen House Democrats, Biden is continuing to push forward.
Biden addressed these concerns in a letter to Congressional Democrats on Monday, saying, “The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end.”
“We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election,” Biden said in the letter, distributed by his reelection campaign. “Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”