If many Democratic lawmakers have been going through stages of grief over President Joe Biden’s candidacy since his disastrous debate, on Tuesday most seem to have reached the stage of acceptance.
A consensus appeared to emerge in pivotal House and Senate meetings Tuesday that Biden is likely to remain at the top of the ticket despite lingering concerns and internal divisions, according to several Democrats who attended the sessions. Only one additional Democrat called on Biden to abandon his reelection campaign following the meetings, indicating a subtle but significant shift in the caucus towards his continued candidacy.
“We have to recognize that the President is the nominee until he says something differently,” Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate, tells TIME. “Biden has made a decision to stay in, so we have to do what we can to win [in November].”
Echoes Rep. Ilhan Omar, a progressive Minnesota Democrat: “I don’t live in a delusional world. The President is going to be our nominee and we will have his back.”
As House lawmakers trickled out of a morning meeting at the Democratic National Committee, which was described by several attendees as a “family conversation,” several Democrats publicly—if cautiously—reaffirmed their support for Biden. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat who had privately advocated for Biden to step aside just days ago, emphasized the need for unity moving forward. “He’s going to be our nominee, and we all have to support him,” Nadler told reporters, reflecting a sentiment shared by many within the party’s ranks.
Despite the outward show of solidarity, the meetings underscored deep-seated divisions within the Democratic Party, particularly in the aftermath of Biden’s lackluster debate performance. Concerns about Biden’s electability against former President Donald Trump have prompted frank discussions among party members, some of whom have openly questioned his ability to lead the party to victory in November. But after Biden vowed to stay in the race in a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday, the meetings left members without a clear path forward. “House Democrats are not even in the same book, let alone on the same page,” Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat, told reporters. The status quo—for Biden to remain as the nominee—appeared to gain reluctant acceptance, even as some members urged the President to make more public appearances and prove he’s up to the job.
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“We need to make sure that our candidate for President can campaign with the vigor that all of [our] candidates have, if not more,” says Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett, a Democrat. “I need to be able to see that [Biden] is ready to go out there and campaign day and night vigorously and passionately, certainly in the battleground states and in states all across the country.”
Tuesday’s meetings certainly won’t be the last opportunities for Democrats to discuss the problem. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries,