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President Joe Biden, in a letter to congressional Democrats<\/a>, stood firm against calls for him to drop his candidacy and called for an end to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dismal public debate performance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Biden’s efforts to shore up a deeply anxious Democratic Party came Monday as lawmakers returned to Washington confronting a choice: Decide whether to work to revive his campaign or try to edge out the party leader, a make-or-break time for his reelection and their own political futures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Biden wrote in the two-page letter that \u201cthe question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it\u2019s time for it to end.\u201d He stressed that the party has \u201cone job,\u201d which is to defeat presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election,\u201d Biden said in the letter, distributed by his reelection campaign. \u201cAny weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It\u2019s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Anxiety is running high as top-ranking Democratic lawmakers are joining calls for Biden to step aside despite his defiance. At the same time, some of the president\u2019s most staunch supporters are redoubling the fight for Biden\u2019s presidency, insisting there\u2019s no one better to beat Trump in what many see as among the most important elections of a lifetime.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Biden followed up the letter with a phone interview with MSNBC\u2019s \u201cMorning Joe\u201d show, on which he insisted that \u201caverage Democrats\u201d want him to stay in the race and said he was frustrated by the calls from party officials for him to step aside.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThey\u2019re big names, but I don\u2019t care what those big names think,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He threw the gauntlet at his critics, saying if they\u2019re serious they ought to \u201cannounce for president, challenge me at the convention\u201d or rally behind him against Trump. Later, Biden joined a call with members of his national finance committee, while first lady Jill Biden campaigned for her husband in a three-state swing focused on engaging veterans and military families.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFor all the talk out there about this race, Joe has made it clear that he\u2019s all in,\u201d she told a military crowd in Wilmington, North Carolina. \u201cThat\u2019s the decision that he\u2019s made, and just as he has always supported my career, I am all in, too.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Democratic voters are split on whether Biden should remain the Democratic Party\u2019s nominee for president, or whether there should be a different Democratic nominee, according to a New York Times\/Siena College poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As lawmakers weigh whether Biden should stay or go<\/a>, there appear to be no easy answers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s a tenuous and highly volatile juncture for the president\u2019s party. Democrats who have worked alongside Biden for years \u2014 if not decades \u2014 and cherished his life’s work on policy priorities are now entertaining uncomfortable questions about his political future. And it’s unfolding as Biden hosts world leaders for the NATO summit<\/a> this week in Washington.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Time is not on their side, almost a month from the Democratic National Convention and just a week before Republicans gather in Milwaukee to renominate Trump<\/a> as their presidential pick. Many Democrats are arguing the attention needs to be focused not on Biden but on the former president’s felony conviction in the hush money case and pending federal charges<\/a> in his effort to overturn the 2020 election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It’s what Biden himself might call an inflection point. As he defiantly says he will only step aside if the Lord almighty comes and tells him to, Democrats in the House and Senate are deciding how hard they want to fight the president to change his course, or if they want to change course at all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In an effort to \u201cget on the same page,\u201d House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is convening lawmakers for private meetings before he shows his own preference, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it. He planned to gather on Monday some Democrats whose bids for reelection are most vulnerable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A private call Sunday including some 15 top House committee members exposed the deepening divide as at least four more Democrats \u2014 Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state and Rep. Mark Takano of California \u2014 privately said Biden should step aside.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nadler, as one of the more senior members on the call, was the first person to say that Biden should step aside, according to a person familiar with the call who was granted anonymity to discuss it. He did so aware of his seniority and that it would allow others to join him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many others on the call raised concerns about Biden\u2019s capability and chance of winning reelection, even if they stopped short of saying Biden should step out of the race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Still other members, including Rep. Maxine Waters of California and Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, both leaders in the Congressional Black Caucus, spoke forcefully in support of Biden, as did Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And several lawmakers appeared frustrated that leadership was not providing direction or a path forward, according to people familiar with the call. One Democratic lawmaker said regardless of the decision, the situation has to \u201cend now,\u201d one of the people said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Neal said afterward that the bottom line is Biden beat Trump in 2020 and \u201che\u2019ll do it again in November.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The upheaval also is testing a new generation of leaders, headed by Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Both New Yorkers have refrained from publicly directing lawmakers on a path forward as they balance diverse opinions in their ranks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n