Schumer privately signals being open to an alternative to Biden, Axios reports

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has privately signaled to donors that he is open to a Democratic presidential candidate other than President Joe Biden, Axios reported on Wednesday.

However, Schumer reiterated support for Biden in a statement late on Wednesday after the Axios report came out.

"As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November," Schumer said in a statement shared by his office.

Biden has faced doubts about his reelection chances after a weak and faltering performance in a debate against Republican former President Donald Trump late last month.

Since then, some Democratic members of Congress and high- profile donors have publicly asked him to step aside as the party's candidate for the Nov. 5 election.

Many from Biden's own party have expressed worries that Biden has not done enough in the ensuing days to convince voters that the debate was an aberration, rather than a true reflection of his abilities.

Biden has said he will stay in the race.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas, David Morgan, Kanishka Singh, Eric Beech and Michael Perry)