Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the former speaker, suggested on Wednesday that President Biden should reconsider his decision to remain in the presidential race, the strongest public push yet from a senior member of his party for him to weigh dropping out.
Despite mounting concerns that his candidacy could cost Democrats not only the White House but both chambers of Congress, Mr. Biden has been unequivocal about his intention to seek a second term, telling members of Congress in a letter on Monday that his mind is made up and “I’m firmly committed to staying in this race.” On Wednesday, Ms. Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the president should continue to weigh his options.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to to make that decision. Because time is running short.”
When pressed on whether she wanted him to seek re-election, Ms. Pelosi said: “I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with.”
Ms. Pelosi said she wanted to restart the conversations about Mr. Biden’s future after the NATO summit he is hosting this week in Washington, which on Thursday will include the president’s first news conference since his disastrous debate performance that raised questions about his mental acuity and fitness to remain in the race.
“Let’s just hold off,” she said. “Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.”
On Capitol Hill, Mr. Biden’s defiant refusal to drop out of the race — coupled with members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus vociferously rallying to his side — appear for now to have successfully paralyzed the entire party into a state of uncertainty and inaction during what lawmakers had deemed to be a critical week for Mr. Biden.
Most top Democrats have settled on a strategy of swallowing their doubts about the president’s viability and doing nothing, at least for now, to urge him to step aside even as many of them believe he cannot beat former President Donald J. Trump and is likely to hurt their chances of holding the Senate and winning the House.
Ms. Pelosi appeared to be preserving space for a more forceful pushback from Democratic leaders at some unspecified point down the line, arguing that there was still time to change course.
Ms. Pelosi, a longtime Biden ally and one of the most seasoned and cutthroat politicians in the House, has been more aggressive in her public comments about the president’s candidacy than other party leaders, who have publicly stated only that they remain behind him.
Last week, Ms. Pelosi said regarding Mr. Biden’s debate lapses that it was a “legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’” A spokesman later clarified that she had “full confidence” in the president and looked forward to attending his inauguration in 2025.
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