Pelosi has told House Democrats that Biden may soon be persuaded to exit race

The former speaker, who left her leadership post in 2022 but still wields enormous clout, has told California Democrats and some members of House leadership that she thinks Biden is getting close to deciding to abandon his presidential bid, three Democratic officials said. Some Democrats fear that, by staying in, Biden will end up handing the White House to Donald Trump.

Pelosi’s aides declined to address her talks with her congressional colleagues while dismissing the media “feeding frenzy” about her discussions with Biden.

“Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings and conversations with the president of the United States,” a spokesperson for the former speaker said.

Biden’s campaign advisers continued Thursday to dismiss talk of replacing him on the ballot.

“President Biden has not spoken to Congressional leadership today,” said TJ Ducklo, a campaign spokesman. “The President is his party’s nominee, having won 14 million votes during the Democratic primary. He’s running for reelection, and that will not change until he wins reelection.”

Rank-and-file Democrats see Pelosi’s hand in a pair of California Democrats calling for Biden to step down, after several days of relative quiet, following the assassination attempt on Trump last weekend. On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a close Pelosi ally, formally called for Biden to step aside for another Democrat. Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) followed suit Thursday.

Concerns among Democrats about Biden’s bid have increased in recent days. Along with Pelosi, party luminaries including former president Barack Obama, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), have conveyed their concerns about Biden’s continuing candidacy for the White House. Jeffries and Schumer told Biden directly in separate meetings recently that his continued candidacy imperils the Democratic Party’s ability to control either chamber of Congress next year. And Obama has told allies in recent days that Biden needs to seriously reconsider the viability of his candidacy.

Pelosi has kept a low public profile since a July 10 appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” which Biden is known to watch, in which she undermined his case for remaining on the November ballot. Democrats saw her nuanced comments — “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run” — as reopening the discussion after Biden had sent a defiant letter to lawmakers two days earlier stating that he was running.

Biden campaign officials continued to reject the calls to step aside. “I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t know how many times we can say this: President Biden is staying in this race,” Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, told reporters Thursday in Milwaukee.

Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, do not seem persuaded.

While she is not actively seeking them out, Pelosi has sent word to House Democrats, particularly those facing tough reelection bids this fall, that she is open to talking through the White House political crisis and how to handle the matter, according multiple House Democratic lawmakers and aides.

The former speaker took detailed notes during these discussions, particularly on polling data from the lawmakers in their races and about Biden’s standing in those key districts, according to one Democrat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive conversations.

These talks, along with private polling data, informed Pelosi’s thinking as she maneuvers through the sensitive discussions with Biden and his inner circle.

The Washington Post and other news outlets reported this week on a recent discussion with Biden, during which Pelosi rejected the president’s assertion that he was doing fine in the polls. She asked him to bring a senior adviser into the talk so they could compare in detail their divergent internal polling, according to one person familiar with the conversation.

Now 84 and back among the rank and file, Pelosi retains a large degree of clout at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Many lawmakers view her as the best Democrat to deliver the tough message to Biden, in part because he views her as a contemporary with her own legacy.

Pelosi also has no individual political aspirations left, having retired from leadership 18 months ago, after 20 years leading House Democrats. She doesn’t have to worry about the ramifications of telling senior leaders what they don’t want to hear, these Democrats say, and the new House leadership appreciates an extra voice in trying to help push Biden into retirement.

But Democrats who want to push Biden aside warn that doing so is far from certain. “It’s a work in progress,” one Democratic lawmaker said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss conversations the former speaker has had with members of the California delegation.

Pelosi has previously gone to great lengths to avoid appearances of being akin to a co-leader to Jeffries and his top lieutenants, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.).

Moments after her floor speech exiting the speakership, Pelosi told a small group of reporters she never wanted lawmakers to see her “being the mother-in-law in the kitchen” trying to explain how her son wanted his Thanksgiving dinner.

But in this moment Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar each have their own political sensitivities that make it more difficult to be forceful toward Biden. The Congressional Black Caucus, the base of support for Jeffries over his climb through House leadership, includes several prominent senior Democrats who are among Biden’s staunchest supporters.

That’s also the case for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has helped launch Aguilar into rising-star status.

So, in this moment, Pelosi has stepped in and played the role of a more blunt messenger to the Biden orbit, channeling what she has heard from her caucus.

One Democrat who spoke with her in recent days reached out to the former speaker, asking for her view. Pelosi set up a call and went through all the details of their district and polling, saying she was taking down detailed notes about the data, according to the Democrat.

At the end of the call, Pelosi explained that she was not actively reaching out to the rank and file, but she wanted lawmakers to know that she was happy to talk the situation through with anyone.

“Just text me,” Pelosi said, according to this Democrat.

The lawmaker hung up the phone and immediately texted a group of 50 Democrats telling them that Pelosi was willing to talk.

Leigh Ann Caldwell and Ashley Parker contributed to this report.