(Bloomberg) -- Some members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet have had private discussions among themselves as to whether it’s now time for his closest advisors to reckon with him about his increasingly dim electoral prospects, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The top-tier officials aren’t themselves trying to push Biden aside, but have discussed whether his 2024 reelection campaign has reached a breaking point, according to the individual, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. The cabinet members acknowledged in their talks that voters have questions around the president’s health and ability to defeat ex-President Donald Trump a second time.
Still, like many prominent Democrats, the cabinet officials ultimately concluded it was up to the president and a coterie of close longtime aides to hash out the matter. There was hope that the president’s family and the staff members in his inner circle would level with Biden about his standing in the race.
The discussion among cabinet members echoed similar conversations among prominent Democrats in the wake of the president’s first debate performance. Much of that agita has spilled into public in recent days, with reports that former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer were among the party leaders privately expressing concern over the viability of Biden’s campaign.
The resulting pressure campaign has left Biden’s reelection effort even further bloodied, and fanned widespread speculation across Washington that he could drop his reelection bid in the coming days.
Biden is weighing the path forward from isolation at his beach house in Delaware, after testing positive on Wednesday for Covid-19. He was forced to abruptly cancel an address to a Latino group in Las Vegas, scuttling his latest effort to shore up minority voter support and leverage that to counter intraparty calls for him to step aside.
“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,” said TJ Ducklo, a Biden campaign spokesperson.
The White House declined to comment. But a second person familiar with the conversation stressed that there had been no suggestion Biden was not equipped to serve out the remainder of his term, or that the cabinet might take action to remove him from power.
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