Biden Faces Fresh Calls to Withdraw as Democrats Fear Electoral Rout

The dam has mostly held on Capitol Hill for President Biden, but cracks continued to open as more donors and elected officials publicly called on President Biden to drop out.

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Representative Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that she would back President Biden, “whatever he decides.”

President Biden faced a fresh wave of pressure on Wednesday to end his campaign or rethink his decision to run for re-election, as Democrats from Hollywood to Capitol Hill aired grave concerns that he would lose to former President Donald J. Trump in November and drag his party’s chance of controlling Congress down with him.

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the former House speaker and a longtime Biden ally, gave the strongest public signal yet that Democrats were still divided on Mr. Biden’s candidacy, saying that “time is running short” for him to make a decision.

Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Ms. Pelosi, 84, said that she would back Mr. Biden, “whatever he decides.”

Mr. Biden, 81, has said his mind is made up about continuing his campaign and called on Democrats to come together behind him. But lawmakers are still agonizing over his decision and hoping to at least keep alive a conversation about an alternative path, as many feared the president would lead their party to an electoral rout from which it could take years to recover.

Mr. Biden’s strategy to save his candidacy appears to be aimed at running out the clock. And every day he defies pressure to step aside makes the logistics of replacing him more difficult. On Wednesday, he appeared to have survived another day, as Capitol Hill remained mired in a state of uncertainty and division during what lawmakers had deemed to be a critical week for Mr. Biden’s campaign.

Intense focus was turning to Mr. Biden’s performance at a NATO news conference on Thursday, which Democrats said would be a critical — and perhaps final — test of the president’s ability to stay in the race.

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