Top House Democrats privately say Biden must go as allies insist he must do more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s base of support among key Democrats on Capitol Hill began to crumble Sunday as a half-dozen top members of the House privately told colleagues he should withdraw from the presidential race amid growing concerns about his age and ability to win reelection.

During a virtual private meeting, the House Democrats — all senior members of powerful committees — discussed how to use their collective influence to convince Biden he had little chance of defeating former President Donald Trump, according to five people familiar with the confidential discussion, including three who were present, all of whom insisted on anonymity to discuss it.

The consensus during the session, which was convened by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the minority leader, was that a change at the top of the ticket was needed to preserve the party’s chances of holding the White House and prevailing in the fight for control of Congress, the people said.

Among those saying explicitly that Biden should end his candidacy were Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee; Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee; Mark Takano of California, the ranking Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee; and Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the committee on House Administration.

A fifth Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, also expressed uncertainty about Biden’s path forward.

Several participants in the meeting declined to comment on the confidential discussion. One attendee, Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, issued a statement afterward declaring, “I support President Biden.”

Some Democrats are still saying Biden deserves a final chance to right his campaign. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said earlier Sunday that the president’s first television interview since the debate fell short of alleviating deep concerns about his condition, and that he had more work to do to convince voters he is fit to run for and win reelection.

“Voters do have questions,” Murphy said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He added: “Personally, I love Joe Biden, and I don’t know that the interview on Friday night did enough to answer those questions. This week is going to be absolutely critical. I think the president needs to do more.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.