According to a Politico report, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been hitting the phones hard to find a replacement for President Biden atop the Democrat Party ticket before it’s too late.
Pelosi and fellow California lawmaker Adam Schiff are among prominent Democrat voices whispering behind the scenes about a Plan B for Biden’s candidacy.
From Politico:
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, convinced Biden will lose, has been working the phones since June 27 in hopes of finding a way to ease him off the ticket.
One of her colleagues was struck to see her chatting, furtively but openly, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries last week in a corner of the House Democratic cloakroom in plain sight of a dozen lawmakers.
The extent of Pelosi’s behind-the-scenes role hasn’t been fully revealed and may never be if the former speaker has her way. But I’m told by people familiar with the exchanges that she’s stage-managed phone calls to Jeffries, plotted strategy with the biggest names in Democratic politics and told one former elected official bluntly that Biden’s legacy can’t be destroying their party.
Of course, that was all before the historic events of the weekend. Shortly before the shooting, Biden had sat through a contentious call with a group of moderate House Democrats, a dispute that led one lawmaker to phone me afterward and suggest more calls from the caucus demanding Biden stand down would be forthcoming.
Pelosi has been soft on her support of President Biden. During a recent appearance on MSNBC, she said that Biden’s decision to run was “up to him” but stressed time was running out to find a replacement.
Pelosi told the Morning Joe crew, “it’s up to the President to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short.”
.@SpeakerPelosi asked about Biden's candidacy:
"I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that's the way it is. Whatever he decides we go with." pic.twitter.com/HqaRGtv2dP
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) July 10, 2024
More over at Politico:
Trump Once Unified Democrats and Divided Republicans. The Shooting And Debate Turned the Tables… https://t.co/ZpCp2G70XC
— Steve Ferguson (@lsferguson) July 16, 2024
