House Dems defend Jeffries as Left's disarray over Biden grows
House Democrats are circling the wagons around Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries even as his caucus continues to clash over President Biden's candidacy.
House Democrats are insisting Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is doing a steady job leading their caucus even as his lawmakers continue to defect from President Biden’s candidacy.
The high-profile Democrat’s backing is critical to Biden right now as he insists to critics and allies alike that he can beat former President Trump and serve another four years.
Jeffries held a listening session with Democrats on Tuesday morning where people aired both their concerns and support for Biden.
Lawmakers who left the meeting were largely tight-lipped, but those who spoke to reporters admitted that no consensus was reached on how their caucus would handle Biden. But hours after the meeting, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., became the seventh House Democrat to publicly urge Biden to step down.
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Those public declarations have drawn rebukes from Biden supporters like Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., who accused his fellow Democrats of "intra-party mixed messaging" that was "deeply self-destructive."
Asked if any of that came from a lack of direction from Jeffries, however, Torres told Fox News Digital, "Leader Jeffries is handling the situation as well as he can."
"If President Biden is going to remain the Democratic nominee, it's counterproductive for members to express no confidence in him. We have no choice but to make the best of a complicated situation and do everything we can to ensure that he can win. So I insist on viewing it pragmatically," Torres explained.
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Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who earlier this week released a statement disputing reports that he spoke out against Biden’s candidacy, similarly denied that Jeffries had any blame for the discord.
"I would never put any of that on him. No, it's a wide and diverse caucus. It’s a big tent. People are going to have different opinions, but he's very good at bringing us together," Beyer told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital that Jeffries was handling the situation "the way it should be handled."
"And that is that everybody, you know, everybody should be heard. I think that's important," McGovern said.
Reps. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., Deborah Ross, D-N.C., Glenn Ivey, D-Md., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., also backed Jeffries.
Others, like Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Mark Takano, D-Calif., did not respond to the question when asked by Fox News Digital.
Despite Jeffries’ backing, however, pressure from House Democrats continues to trickle down onto the 81-year-old president.
While just seven House lawmakers in his party have asked Biden to step aside, more have expressed their concerns over his abilities.
Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine., and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., have warned they don’t think Biden can beat former President Trump.
And on Tuesday evening, Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, became the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to voice hesitation about Biden.
"What I said this morning and expressed to my colleagues, particularly from members on the front line, is that I think they need to do whatever it is they need to do in order to come back and be re-elected and so if they need to, you know, distance themselves, then that’s what they need to do," he told CNN.
Jeffries, for his part, told reporters on Monday, "I made clear the day after the debate, publicly, that I support President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket. My position has not changed."