Jeffries and Biden meet but Democratic leader does not offer the president his endorsement

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and President Joe Biden met Thursday night after the president’s widely watched solo news conference, a source familiar with their meeting tells CNN, as defections in Biden’s Democratic coalition in Congress continue.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and President Joe Biden met Thursday night after the president’s closely watched solo news conference as defections in Biden’s Democratic coalition in Congress continue. In the meeting, Jeffries “directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together,” the New York Democrat wrote in a letter to his colleagues on Friday. But Jeffries did not offer Biden one key thing: His endorsement. A person familiar with the meeting said Jeffries “bluntly” shared the views of the caucus – as he stated in his letter – but intentionally did not offer an endorsement or say publicly that the decision is Biden’s to make. While it is uncertain if Biden directly asked Jeffries for his tacit endorsement, a person familiar with the matter said, Jeffries did not extend it at the meeting or in the public letter released Friday morning. Although Biden’s performance during his news conference, which lasted just under an hour and during which he fielded 19 questions from reporters on topics ranging from his mental capabilities to foreign policy, was much stronger than his appearance during the CNN presidential debate, it has not stemmed the steady stream of House Democrats coming out against Biden’s efforts to seek a second term.