Top Biden campaign officials huddle with Democratic lawmakers ahead of pivotal press conference

WASHINGTON – Democratic senators met Thursday with a handful of President Joe Biden's campaign officials as lawmakers determine how and whether to continue to support Biden's reelection bid.

The lunchtime meeting was organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. in the hopes that members could get answers to soothe their concerns with Biden's candidacy after his disastrous debate last month.

The president's performance against former President Donald Trump made Democrats across the country sweat after he struggled to complete sentences and arguments in his pitch to voters.

Senior Biden advisors Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, as well as Biden campaign Chair Jen O'Malley Dillon, spoke with senators at the meeting, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide. The huddle came before Biden holds a press conference this evening as part of the ongoing NATO summit in Washington, a pivotal spotlight as he faces growing criticism.

However, the meeting did not appear to stop the bleeding for Biden: Several senators have expressed more serious doubt about Biden's candidacy in recent days, and one, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, has directly called for Biden to step aside.

Those senators did not appear to have their concerns allayed during the meeting. Welch said it didn't change his mind, and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who went on CNN to say he believes Biden will likely lose to Trump said he stands by his comments.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., the first Democrat to leave the meeting, said the campaign staff focused on the path to beating Trump: "The best way we can defeat Donald Trump is to reelect President Biden. I thought the presentation that we just had was a really excellent (one,)" she said.

Some lawmakers had advice about Biden's reelection bid. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the mood in the room was “constructive” and “positive," but said he did not see concrete data that allayed his concerns about Biden’s candidacy. “The kinds of activities that Joe Biden is pursuing right now can allay all of the concerns that are out there now, but he has to be out there himself personally and consistently.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called on the Biden campaign to be "stronger and clearer in defending their own record" as they try to win voters back.

Other lawmakers were willing to give a behind-the-scenes peek into Democratic thinking in the wake of the discussion. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told reporters after the meeting that "it's very clear that we were asked not to say anything," while Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., one of Biden's longtime allies, said "we agreed as a caucus not to say anything."

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers have been willing to publicly call on Biden to pass the torch.

"I, like folks across the country, am worried about November’s election. The stakes could not be higher," Welch wrote in an op-ed published by the Washington Post. "We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night."

Bennet told CNN on Tuesday night that the White House "has done nothing to really demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election" following the rocky debate.

Across the Capitol, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., fired off a warning shot Thursday morning, appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe to say Biden needs to "decide if he's going to run," despite the president sending a letter to congressional Democrats Monday making it abundantly clear that he has already made his decision – he's sticking in the race.

That's the message that Biden's closest allies on Capitol Hill were trying to communicate to their colleagues: That Biden is hearing concerns and showing Democrats he's capable of defeating his GOP rival.

"President Biden has listened and engaged with a very wide range of members," Coons said. "And he has heard broadly a message you need to get out there, you need to engage, you need to do press interviews. And he's doing it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden campaign met with Senate Democrats as concerns spike