President Biden is facing a firestorm of criticism and pressure to drop out of the presidential race from some Democrats, but on Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats have largely stood firm in backing the president as he vows to stay in the 2024 race.
“As I’ve said before, I’m for Joe,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told waiting reporters when he returned from recess this week. He reiterated that stance after a lunch with fellow Democratic senators on Tuesday.
While some members of his caucus have raised questions or concerns about the president’s performance in the debate, so far no member of the slim Democratic majority in the Senate has openly called for President Biden to resign.
What some Democratic senators have done, however, is put pressure on the president to show that he is prepared to run a vigorous campaign and a second term.
President Biden spoke at a campaign event in Philadelphia on Sunday. Some Democratic senators have expressed concerns, but so far have not turned on the president and called on him to step aside.
“More than a week after the debate, and after speaking with my constituents, I believe President Biden must do more to demonstrate that he can run a strong enough campaign to beat Donald Trump,” Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WI) said in a statement.
“There is a case to be made against Donald Trump. President Biden needs to lead the charge in making that case,” he continued.
She said they need to see a “much stronger and more energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the very near future so that he can convince voters that he is up to the job.”
His sentiments were echoed by fellow Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who faces a tough re-election campaign in Montana.
“President Biden needs to prove to the American people, including myself, that he is prepared to serve in office for another four years,” Tester told a local reporter.
“In the meantime, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: stand up to President Biden when he makes a mistake and protect our Montana way of life,” he added.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said Biden needs to “prove to the American people” that he “is up to the job for another four years.”
Sen. Joe Manchin has rarely kept his opinions to himself, but when it comes to the state of the presidential race, he said it’s too early to pass judgment.
The outgoing West Virginia senator, who recently changed his party registration to independent but caucuses with Democrats, said he wants to see which direction the president will take and that it will take time. He said Biden could still win.
“I think it’s winnable, for sure,” Manchin told reporters. “I’ve always said Donald Trump is a threat to democracy as we know it, so I think people are taking it very seriously. You can’t predict the outcome of the race now. It’s ridiculous.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (IW. Va.) said the 2024 race is still “winnable” for Biden and that Trump is a “threat to democracy as we know it.”
Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said it’s “really important for us as Democrats to have an open discussion” so they have a path to winning the White House and both chambers of Congress, but he stopped short of calling on the president to step aside.
Sen. Tina Smith expressed a similar view, saying she is “concerned” about Biden’s ability to beat Trump and said she is hearing that from people in her home state of Minnesota. But she said she wanted Democrats to discuss it this week.
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin also said she had heard concerns about Biden’s ability to win the election. Baldwin, who is seeking reelection in the battleground state, said she believes everyone is watching his performance closely this week.
Senator Mark Warner was reportedly trying to arrange a meeting to discuss his support for Biden, but it was canceled when the senators returned to Washington.
Instead, Warner called for talks on a firmer path forward. He also said Biden needed to “make his case more aggressively to the American people.”
Outgoing Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow said there were concerns but declined to say whether anyone at the lunch with Senate Democrats on Tuesday had asked the president to step aside. She compared it to a “private family discussion.”
Stabenow also praised Biden as the “best president” Michigan has ever had.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon called Biden’s debate “a bad night” and encouraged the president to get out and talk to voters.
“At this point the president has said he’s here, he’s going to show up. That’s it,” Wyden said.
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) expressed some concerns but called for debates among Democrats this week.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called for talks on the strongest path forward. He says Trump is a threat to democracy.
Others offered much stronger support.
Emerging from a lunch with other Senate Democrats on Tuesday, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said nothing has changed.
“Nothing has changed. Joe Biden is our man, he’s my man and he’s the only one who’s been able to kick Trump’s ass,” Fetterman said.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of the swing state of Nevada said in a statement that Biden won the Democratic nomination “in a landslide because he fights for the workers of this country.”
“He has always stood with Nevadans, whether on the picket lines, protecting our personal freedoms or cutting costs, and now it’s time for us to stand with him,” she said.
“We have to remember that President Biden, for 30 years, has been a person who stutters and sometimes gets things wrong, and we shouldn’t hold him to too high a standard. He’s been the most important president of my lifetime,” said Senator Chris Coons.
Biden’s former rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, also reaffirmed his support for Biden.
“Right now, President Biden is the Democratic nominee. Until I hear anything different, I’m going to support him,” Sanders said in an interview with CNN.
“I think if he makes it clear that he is willing to stand up for workers and take on powerful special interests, he will win the election.”
Sanders declined to speculate on his support for a replacement if Biden were no longer the nominee: “Right now Biden is the Democratic nominee. Period.”
Other Democratic senators have so far not publicly addressed the president’s suitability for office or the growing pressure from some in their party to leave office.
California Sen. Laphonza Butler did not respond to reporters’ questions Tuesday.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said it remains to be seen whether Biden remains on the ticket.
As Senate Democrats face big questions, Republicans see Biden as a way to go after vulnerable senators up for re-election this year.
Several incumbent Democrats are running in states Trump won in 2020 and face tough challenges from Republican opponents. The 2024 map looks more favorable to Republicans who hold the Senate majority.
In recent weeks, Republican candidates and party operatives have seized on the president’s debate performance to raise questions about Biden’s fitness and attack Democratic senators by suggesting they are covering up for the president and the White House.