More Democrats called for Biden to bow out of the race.
President Joe Biden faced a critical point in his reelection bid as Democratic calls for him to exit the 2024 race continued to mount despite his efforts to shut them down.
A poor debate performance against Donald Trump in June reignited questions about Biden's age and fitness to carry out his campaign and serve another four years. While Biden defiantly insisted he was staying the course, he later announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
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President Joe Biden will hold a one-on-one interview with NBC News' Lester Holt Monday, the network announced.
This will mark the second TV interview Biden has held since last month's presidential debate.
Holt will interview Biden earlier in the day while he's in Austin, Texas, and the full interview will air at 9 p.m. ET, the network announced.
In back-to-back House Financial Services Committee hearings with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, both regular, annual hearings on their agency's policies, Republican Mike Lawler of New York redirected from questions about inflation and tariffs on Russia to ask each official about their personal interactions with the president.
Yellen said she wouldn't describe the content of her meetings with the president or say when she last met with him because it was "private," but she called Biden "extremely effective."
"The president is extremely effective in the meetings that I've been in with him, that includes many international meetings that are multi hour, like his meetings with President Xi [Jinping of China]," she said.
"Madam secretary, have there been any discussions among Cabinet secretaries about invoking the 25th Amendment?" Lawler asked.
"No," Yellen said resolutely. The 25th Amendment states that the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet can together remove power from the president if he or she is incapacitated.
Powell, asked by Lawler if he’s "noticed any mental or cognitive decline” in meetings with the president, said “no.”
But Powell noted that he’d only interacted with the president twice in the last two years -- once for a meeting and once to shake his hand at a state dinner, which Powell said was normal for presidents and Federal Reserve chairs, given the independence of the agency.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Multiple Senate Democrats spoke candidly with ABC News about concerns they have about Biden's viability and said they want to continue discussions about the best path forward.
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he is worried about "an existential threat to the country if Donald Trump wins," and added "every day is critical" as Biden weighs his path forward.
"I have confidence in Joe Biden doing what's right for America. What he believes is right for America is to defeat Donald Trump and he'll be a pretty good judge of whether that will be possible," Blumenthal said. "We can all advise him we can raise concerns ultimately the decision is his and I am going to continue to raise concerns but I do think we need to ultimately unify because the existential threat here is Donald Trump.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, associated himself with the comments of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi made on MSNBC Wednesday, in which she appeared to leave the door open for the president to step aside.
"I thought Speaker Pelosi nailed it pretty well this morning," Whitehouse told ABC News. He repeatedly avoided answering additional questions about whether Biden should resign before reiterating his support for Pelosi's comments.
Although Sen. Dick Durbin told ABC News Durbin he was "very concerned" about Biden's chances, he added that he's always known the race would be close.
"I believe we wage the right campaign and make a point of what we've achieved under this president we will see him reelected," Durbin said.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who expressed worries about Biden's future during a closed-door meeting among Senate Democrats Tuesday, told ABC News he was hearing legitimate concerns from voters.
"My job is to listen to them my job is to go to hearings like this to fight for lower drug prices to fight for Ohio workers," Brown said.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin and Rachel Scott
New York Rep. Pat Ryan, a moderate Democrat, is now calling on Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee.
"Trump is an existential threat to American democracy; it is our duty to put forward the strongest candidate against him," Ryan wrote on X. "Joe Biden is a patriot but is no longer the best candidate to defeat Trump. For the good of our country, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside -- to deliver on his promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders.”
Ryan is the eighth House Democrat to publicly call on Biden to step aside.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller
