POTUS to Democratic Donors: ‘We Need Two More Senators’


During his trip to Los Angeles to take part in the Summit of the Americas, President Joe Biden made appearances at a pair of exclusive fundraisers on Friday where he urged Democratic donors to send him reinforcements on Capitol Hill to keep Republicans out of power and help free his agenda from the current Congressional gridlock. The first was intimate, with only a couple of dozen attendees. It was held on the back patio of the home of Andrew Hauptman, a private investor with many power players in attendance, including film mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Without naming either of the centrist Democrats who’ve been voting more with the Republicans than their own party, the President said Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are “slowing up what we’re able to do.” While the President has met with both of them, he’s struggled to win them over at a time when the Democrats’ majority is very much at stake. “We need two more senators,” President Biden said at the second fundraiser, a line he’s repeated often in the last few months.

Some political insiders believe it’s going to be difficult for Democrats to pick up any seats in this year’s midterm elections, giving Republicans the power to retake control of Congress. But the President, who always describes himself as an optimist, urged donors to continue opening their wallets to support the party. Each fundraiser raised about $2.5 million, according to a Democratic National Committee official.
President Biden is attending the first of two DNC fundraisers tonight at the Brentwood home of Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman. Hollywood exec Jeffrey Katzenberg is a co-host. All three have all backed Rep. Karen Bass in the race for Los Angeles mayor
— Katherine Doyle (@katiadoyl) June 11, 2022
The President also spoke about other current events, with a focus on recent gun violence and inflation. “We’re going to live with this inflation for a while,” he said. It’s going to come down gradually, but we’re going to live with it for a while.”
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