Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer has been firmly repeating one simple phrase when asked about whether President Biden should step aside from his campaign: \u201cI\u2019m with Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
But behind the scenes, the New York Democrat has left himself plenty of room to maneuver as he faces immense pressure from some Democratic senators and donors to convey a message to Biden to abandon his campaign after his faltering debate performance two weeks ago. A Thursday evening news conference in which Biden elaborated on foreign policy questions, though stumbled over some answers, hadn\u2019t publicly changed much as of midday Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Chuck Schumer\u2019s in a unique position,\u201d said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), one of Biden\u2019s loudest supporters in the Senate, when asked if he believes Schumer wants Biden to stay in the race. \u201cHe uniquely among Senate Democrats is also working to ensure we maintain the majority this November. In my opinion, those two things are not at odds. \u2026 The way Chuck Schumer thinks about it might be slightly different.\u201d<\/p>\n
A naturally cautious leader, Schumer didn\u2019t publicly comment following Biden\u2019s news conference. And unlike House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), he did not go to the White House to personally deliver a message to the president about where his members stood. But as time wears on and Biden\u2019s political crisis continues, there are signs that Schumer\u2019s stance may be shifting.<\/p>\n
In a private lunch Tuesday, two of Schumer\u2019s most vulnerable incumbents up for reelection \u2014 Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) \u2014 bluntly told the caucus that Biden would lose to former president Donald Trump, according to three people familiar the meeting. One senator made the point that even if all of Democratic incumbents won their tough races, that would still only produce a 50-50 Senate, which means Republicans would have the majority if Biden is ousted from the White House.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Biden\u2019s bad debate performance raised serious questions about whether he\u2019s up for the job for the next four years,\u201d Tester said in a statement after the meeting. \u201cHe needs to prove to the American people, and me, that he can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Schumer is urging senators to be cautious and hold their fire as he guides them through a politically perilous moment with an unclear endgame. But he is also taking in public and private polling and data showing Biden\u2019s effect on key swing state Senate races, according to people familiar with his thinking. It has all left some in the Senate \u2014 as well as some donors \u2014 with the impression that the majority leader is keeping the door open to a change at the top of the ticket.<\/p>\n
Schumer is a skilled fundraiser who helped build and maintain the Democratic Senate majority. Now he has to figure out how to preserve it \u2014 or as much of it as he can \u2014 with Senate Democrats and challengers already wary of being dragged down by Biden in key states where they are outperforming him. <\/p>\n
At times, Democratic senators have not been exactly clear where he stands on the path forward for the party. Schumer has mostly been in listening mode, they said. The usually press-happy politician has avoided the spotlight on Biden\u2019s fate as well, as he finds himself in the uncomfortable position of no longer being closely aligned with a president who he\u2019s worked hand-in-glove with over the past four years to pass an ambitious liberal legislative agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith something as complex as this situation, his inclination is not to stake out a bold position and then cajole the caucus to come along,\u201d said Matt House, a former top aide to Schumer. \u201cHe likes to listen to his members very carefully, likes to facilitate discussion, and he prefers caucus unity wherever possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schumer\u2019s top priority is protecting the five vulnerable Democratic senators running for reelection, and that\u2019s made him wary of rushing into action on Biden, several people close to him have said. In the days after the debate, as Democrats began floating replacing Biden with Vice President Harris, Schumer encouraged senators to wait for more data before reacting publicly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a more complicated calculus for him because you have to balance what the top of the ticket is \u2014 Biden or Harris \u2014 and then you have to go race by race,\u201d said one person close to Senate leadership, who \u2014 like others in the article \u2014 spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. \u201cHe wants the benefit of clarity instead of the fog of war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schumer obtained data points that show Biden\u2019s shrinking path to 270 electoral votes after the debate, according to three people familiar with his thinking.<\/p>\n
But it takes more time to get enough information from swing states to analyze how taking the dramatic step of changing a presidential ticket less than four months before an election would impact different Senate incumbents in diverse states.<\/p>\n
Christie Roberts, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee\u2019s executive director, told Bloomberg News that internal data since the debate shows Senate races \u201cholding steady or even moved a little in our direction in the last two weeks,\u201d indicating that voters are prepared to split their ticket between races for president or Senate.<\/p>\n
Initial data had suggested senators in Montana, Ohio and Nevada would not be helped by having Harris instead of Biden running at the top of the ticket, two people close to Senate leadership said. The political situation is incredibly fluid, however, and it will take time to see the full picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anything he does right now to add to the panic is useful,\u201d a second person in constant contact with senators and aides said.<\/p>\n
The majority leader is in frequent contact with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and adviser Steve Ricchetti but has only spoken directly with the president once since the debate, according to a person familiar with the outreach. Congressional Democrats have complained about the lack of contact from Bidenworld in the debate\u2019s immediate aftermath, though communication has increased. There is a sense that the White House and Biden\u2019s top aides are too isolated from the reality of the situation, Hill Democrats said.<\/p>\n
Biden has also made it clear that only hard data will convince him to leave the race, not the opinions of Hill Democrats, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), the campaign\u2019s co-chair, has told his colleagues. And Democrats are aware that ultimately the decision to step aside is Biden\u2019s to make.<\/p>\n
At the news conference, Biden said he would only drop out if the data says that \u201cthere\u2019s no way\u201d he can win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not saying that,\u201d Biden said. \u201cNo poll says that.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, just one senator, Peter Welch (D-Vt.), has called on Biden to step aside \u2014 although a majority of the caucus is concerned the president cannot win in 2024, according to multiple senators and aides.<\/p>\n
As donors and senators bombard Schumer with their concerns, he\u2019s urged them to directly contact the White House, rather than offering to be their messenger, according to two people familiar with the conversations.<\/p>\n
Donors are more focused on Schumer\u2019s expensive battle to save his narrow majority. Angsty and angry large-dollar donors who want Biden to step aside are in a holding pattern, hoping to pressure the president out of the race, according to multiple people who are responsible for courting large campaign contributions. Donor anxiety is trickling down to at least one Senate campaign and to the anti-Trump super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, which have both seen the effects of a fundraising freeze, according to two people familiar with the fundraising.<\/p>\n
Schumer, who raised hundreds of millions of dollars to win the Senate, has seemed to share donors\u2019 concerns at times. Some donors said they believed the majority leader was open to a change at the top of the ticket, Axios reported.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November,\u201d Schumer said in a statement this week.<\/p>\n
Multiple major donors have communicated that they are increasing their commitment to Senate Democrats and have sent new six-figure donations, one national Democrat with knowledge of Senate races said. One major donor increased their support to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee following the debate by 50 percent, this person said. Part of the motivation behind the increased giving was the Supreme Court\u2019s decision on presidential immunity and the Senate\u2019s role in confirming high court justices.<\/p>\n
Schumer invited top Biden campaign officials Ricchetti, Mike Donilon and Jen O\u2019Malley Dillon to talk to his angry caucus so that they could make their concerns known directly to the inner circle of the campaign. In the tense meeting Thursday, several senators expressed their deep concern that Biden could be a drag on Democrats\u2019 chance to win the Senate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe polling is really what\u2019s driving this discussion,\u201d one national Democratic official said. \u201cChuck is leaning more into the position of making clear to Biden what his problems are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul Kane contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer has been firmly repeating one simple phrase when asked about whether President Biden should step aside from his campaign: \u201cI\u2019m with Joe.\u201d But behind the scenes, the New York Democrat has left himself plenty of room to maneuver as he faces immense pressure from some Democratic senators and donors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}