Rep. Dean Phillips to meet with donors about a potential primary challenge to President Biden
NEW YORK — Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., will meet with Democratic donors next week to discuss potentially staging a 2024 primary challenge against President Joe Biden.
Phillips will travel to New York next week to meet with donors about the possibility of running against Biden in next year's presidential election, a spokesperson for Phillips told USA TODAY, confirming a report first published by Politico on Friday.
Phillips, a moderate Democrat, has been one of the most outspoken Democratic lawmakers advocating for a contested 2024 primary election. The third-term Democrat from Minneapolis has publicly expressed concerns about Biden running for a second four-year term in the White House as an octogenarian.
Phillips, 54, is more than 26 years younger than Biden, who will turn 81 in November.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson have both launched campaigns the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, but Phillips would be the first Democratic lawmaker from either chamber of Congress to challenge Biden. Phillips decision to explore a presidential bid is notable because — unlike Kennedy and Williamson — he has close ties with Democratic congressional leadership.
Phillips decision to discuss a potential presidential bid comes amid heightened concern for aging political leaders in Washington. Biden made history when he became the oldest person elected president at the age of 77. Earlier this summer, the president tripped and fell over a sandbag after giving the commencement address at the Air Force Academy.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 81, appeared to suffer a medical episode on Wednesday while giving a press conference, requiring Senate colleges to step in and escort McConnell away from the lectern. McConnell later returned to the press conference and answered questions from reporters.
A day later, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., began reading a statement instead of voting during a routine "aye" or "nay" vote on Thursday. Feinstein, 90, needed a fellow senator to tell her to "just say 'aye.'"