Senate Democrats will not be huddling Monday to discuss President Biden’s reelection efforts, according to a source familiar with Sen. Mark Warner’s (D-Va.) thinking.
Axios had reported earlier that Warner was spearheading efforts to organize a meeting Monday night to discuss Biden’s reelection efforts. According to a source familiar with Warner’s thinking, this meeting was never scheduled because leaked details of the idea of the meeting made it impossible to have a private conversation.
Axios first reported that there would be no Monday meeting.
The source would not confirm what the details of the potential meeting would have been about, noting that Warner has not taken a position on whether Biden should pull out of the race following a rocky debate performance.
Two sources familiar with Warner’s efforts told The Hill earlier this week that Warner has been building support among Democrats to ask Biden to drop his reelection bid, saying Biden’s candidacy could pose risks to relatively safe Democrat seats.
The Washington Post first reported Warner’s efforts last week, but a spokesperson for Warner’s office would not confirm that reporting at the time.
“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.
When asked about the reporting as he was leaving a Wisconsin campaign event last week, Biden said “he’s the only one.” When asked again about the reports during an interview with ABC News on Friday, Biden called the senator “a good man.”
“Mark and I have a different perspective. I respect him,” Biden added later in the interview.
The president has come under fire in recent weeks following a lackluster debate showing that prompted many Democrats and pundits to raise concerns about whether he can handle a second term. A handful of Democrats have also called on him to step aside from the race.
At least four senior House Democrats also said in a private phone call Sunday afternoon that Biden should drop out of the race, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Biden has remained adamant that he will be staying in the race. Many Democrats and other public officials have also publicly backed him in the days following the debate.