Here’s where Pa.’s Democratic Congress members stand on whether Biden should remain the nominee

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden went on the offensive this week, telling Democrats in Congress he will remain the nominee and urging them to rally around his campaign despite lingering concerns over his age, fitness for office, and ability to defeat former President Donald Trump.

In Pennsylvania, the Democratic delegation appears split in the wake of Biden’s disastrous June debate performance. Several members have voiced full-throated support for the 81-year-old president or appeared with him recently, but a handful have either declined to comment on whether he should be the nominee or indicated they are still wrestling with the question.

“I’m still thinking it through,” U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat who represents Chester County, said Monday night at the Capitol, headphones in as she went to vote.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, a progressive from Pittsburgh, also declined to comment on Biden’s candidacy.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild directed a reporter to a printed statement issued Sunday after reports of a phone call among senior leaders was leaked and identified her as someone concerned about Biden’s fitness.

“In a confidential conversation with other members of House Democratic leadership, I expressed the same concerns that Americans across the country — and here in my district — are grappling with, about President Biden’s electability at the top of the ticket,” said Wild, a Democrat who faces a tough reelection in the Lehigh Valley.

“... In the coming days and weeks, I will operate as I always have, continuing to have these important conversations while keeping the best interests of my constituents at the forefront of every decision and statement I make.”

The timeline for Democrats in Congress to unify around a call for Biden to drop out may be narrowing. Biden has downplayed any dissent and said repeatedly he has senior leadership behind him. While a handful of members have publicly called for him to decline the nomination, it would take many, many more of the 213 to have any influence on what is ultimately Biden’s decision to make.

The party will hold its national convention in Chicago next month — with Biden set to formally accept the nomination unless something changes. And many states will begin early voting as soon as September.

House Democrats held a caucus Tuesday morning at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee offices in Washington. Senate Democrats also met on Capitol Hill later in the day.

House Democrats filtered into the DCCC on Tuesday morning, where they had their phones and Apple Watches locked away to ensure private discussions during the meeting. Three men in suits held “Is Joe Biden fit for office?” signs by the front door.

Most members either declined to talk to reporters waiting in the muggy Washington heat afterward or offered brief comments saying it was a private place for people to express views or a “family conversation.” Wild and Houlahan declined reporters’ questions as they left the meeting.

At least one of the six members who have called for Biden to drop out, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, said after the meeting that that remains his assessment. ”I’m concerned about him dragging the ticket down,” Quigley said.

Here’s what Pennsylvania’s nine House Democrats and two senators have said about whether they think Biden should remain the party nominee:

Fetterman is firmly backing the president, campaigning with him Sunday. At a labor union event in Harrisburg, the senator hailed Biden as “the only person that’s ever kicked Trump’s ass in an election” and took a jab at media coverage of the efforts to oust Biden from the race.

“I hope the media is hearing that — remind you of that. Humiliated Trump. Broke him,” Fetterman said.

Fetterman, who experienced a stroke during his 2022 election campaign, had his own closely scrutinized TV debate performance before his eventual victory over Republican Mehmet Oz.

Casey, a fellow Scranton native and close Biden ally, acknowledged the president’s poor debate performance but has so far stuck by him. “People know what’s at stake in this race,” Casey said last week in Scranton.

Casey joined Biden during his campaign swing in the state on Sunday. The incumbent Democrat will be on the ballot alongside Biden in November as he attempts to fend off a challenge from Republican Dave McCormick.

Boyle appeared with Biden during his visit to Philadelphia on Sunday. He’s posted photos on social media of him hugging the president on the tarmac and on Monday night he shared a message affirming his support.

“I wanted Biden to run in 2016, and still regret he didn’t,” Boyle said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I urged him to run in 2020 and was a strong supporter from Day One. And I stayed a strong supporter, even when the odds looked long. So I sure as hell am not abandoning Joe Biden now. "

Evans is not yet back on the hill after suffering a minor stroke from which he’s still recovering in Philadelphia. But he’s posted a lot of positive reinforcement for Biden on social media, including just a day after the debate.

“I’m proud to have voted to pass key parts of the Biden-Harris administration’s agenda, and I’m happy to remind everyone of how much Joe Biden has accomplished,” Evans posted on X after Biden’s ABC interview.

A spokesperson who was asked whether Evans supports Biden’s decision to remain the nominee responded that Evans’ answer was: “Hell yes.”

Dean appeared with Biden this weekend at a church service in Northwest Philadelphia and campaign stops in Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

“This man knows exactly what he’s doing,” Dean said in her remarks in Harrisburg. “And we cannot risk going back.”

In a PBS Newshour interview Monday, she said she is “unapologetically supportive of the president, his record, his decency, and his integrity.”

She described the president during the campaign swing as “well-spirited. He worked from a notebook. I know the teleprompter argument goes on... We also were together in front of folks who were organizers on the campaign side and labor, where the president spoke without any notes, and he was terrific. He was just fine.”

Dean said voters need to see more of Biden. “Americans need to listen, see Joe Biden out there more, see him face-to-face with the American people and make their decision.”

Scanlon said, in a statement: “I support President Biden as our Democratic nominee for president, and celebrate the Biden-Harris administration’s record of accomplishment for Pennsylvania families. Voters in my district stepped up to provide the margin of victory to defeat Donald Trump in 2020, and we look forward to defeating him again in 2024.”

Houlahan said she wasn’t ready to talk about Biden on Monday evening and said she’s still thinking things through. She hasn’t issued any statements about the president’s debate or his campaign since the debate.

Wild hasn’t elaborated beyond a Sunday statement in which she acknowledged she’s expressed concerns about Biden’s candidacy, through conversations with constituents.

Wild is facing a tight reelection battle in her Lehigh Valley district. She appeared with first lady Jill Biden at a community college in Allentown on July 2, but declined to answer questions about the presidential election. “I’m not talking politics today,” she said at the event held just five days after the debate.

She joined President Biden during a visit to the Lehigh Valley in January and praised “the important work the president’s done to reduce costs and invest in infrastructure, and of course, prosecuting the case against Donald Trump on democracy and freedom.”

Cartwright, who represents a swing district in Northeastern Pennsylvania, had been quiet on Biden’s debate performance until this week. Cartwright issued a statement Tuesday evening, distancing himself from the president without calling for him to step aside.

“The president had a tough night, but I’m running a different race in my community. Northeastern Pennsylvania knows me,” Cartwright said. “They know I’m delivering good-paying jobs, lowering prescription drug prices, and sticking up for our rights.”

Lee declined to discuss Biden when approached on Capitol Hill. She said in a radio interview last Wednesday that Biden needs to get in front of voters and show he’s capable of beating Trump.

Speaking on Sirius XM’s “Mornings with Zerlina,” hosted by former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer Zerlina Maxwell, Lee said, “If President Biden and his team decides that he’s staying in this race, then it’s going to be incumbent on them to show us — to show us, not tell us — to show us that he’s up for the task.”

If Biden decided to step aside, she later said, Vice President Kamala Harris should be the Democratic nominee.

“There is not going to be time for a primary,” she said. “The vice president is the obvious choice because she’s sitting right there as somebody who has been in the White House, as somebody who already has the name recognition, who’s already out on the trail.”

She added: “[T]he optics of pushing aside a Black woman is that they’re not good.”

Deluzio on July 2 appeared with House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jeffries at a visit to Pittsburgh International Airport to tout infrastructure dollars. Both offered strong support for a second Biden term during the visit.

“As much as it was a tough night, I think I also heard Donald Trump lie probably 30 times,” Deluzio said. “I heard him say he won’t commit to respecting the election results. I continue to think he’s a significant threat to our freedom, to this democracy.”