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      Biden, on Call With Mayors, Works to Shore Up Democratic Support

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      President Biden held a video call with nearly 200 Democratic mayors on Tuesday night, reiterating that he was staying in the presidential race, reminding the city leaders how best to support his campaign and discussing his second-term agenda.Mr. Biden, his campaign and the White House have been working to dismiss and defuse Democratic criticisms about his viability after his poor debate showing. Those efforts included a gathering of Democratic governors last week at the White House, a television interview with ABC News two days later and calls on Monday to top donors, congressional leaders and a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus.The call with mayors lasted about 40 minutes and Mr. Biden took three questions, according to Mayor Cory Mason of Racine, Wis., a Democrat who participated in the call and provided details about how it went — as did five other mayors who insisted on anonymity to freely discuss the conversation. Mr. Mason described Mr. Biden as “the president that everybody’s used to seeing” and not the one who delivered a halting debate performance nearly two weeks ago.“It was understandable for a time for people to ask if everything is OK,” Mr. Mason said. “It’s four months out from the election, so you can’t have too many of those days, but every day that passes, he’s proving he can recover from a bad debate performance.”The mayors described the call as a somewhat scripted pep rally, with Mr. Biden speaking for about 20 minutes and then taking questions from mayors selected by the moderator, Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix.Like many video calls arranged by the Biden campaign and the White House, participants could not see who else was on the call or add comments into the chat screen. They could indicate their feelings about what was being said by adding emojis, and many contributed smiley-face ones as Mr. Biden spoke, according to Mr. Mason.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      U.S. Marshal Shoots Man in Attempted Carjacking Near Sotomayor’s Home

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      The marshal was sitting in an unmarked federal vehicle near the Supreme Court justice’s home when a man approached the vehicle and pointed a handgun at him through the driver’s side window.A U.S. marshal on a Supreme Court security detail shot and wounded an armed man who tried to carjack him early Friday near Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s home in northwest Washington, according to court documents.The marshal was sitting in an unmarked federal vehicle when a silver Toyota minivan pulled over next to him, according to court documents. A man, identified in the documents as Kentrell Flowers, 18, exited the van, approached the marshal and pointed a handgun at him through the driver’s side window.The marshal drew his gun and fired at Mr. Flowers through the window four times, hitting him in the mouth, according to the court documents. A second U.S. marshal from another vehicle also responded and fired his weapon, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.The first marshal provided first aid to Mr. Flowers, who was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Mr. Flowers was charged with armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device.The driver of the minivan, which had been carjacked, fled the scene. The Metropolitan Police Department opened an investigation into the episode, which occurred in the Shaw neighborhood.The marshals “involved in the shooting incident were part of the unit protecting the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices,” a spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement. “As a general practice, the U.S. Marshals don’t discuss specifics of protective details.”Carjackings are down nearly 50 percent this year compared with the same period last year, according to the crime data from the Metropolitan Police Department. Following a national trend, the overall crime rate in the District of Columbia is down 17 percent compared with last year. More

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      On Capitol Hill, Democrats Panic About Biden but Do Nothing

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      The president has yet to do what many Democrats said he must to show he is up to remaining in the race. But so far, they have thrown up their hands, doing nothing to nudge him aside.Senator Christopher S. Murphy, an ambitious young Democrat from Connecticut, went on television on Sunday with a carefully worded warning to President Biden about the viability of his campaign.“This week is going to be absolutely critical; I think the president needs to do more,” Mr. Murphy said, arguing that Mr. Biden needed to hold a town hall and participate in unscripted events because “the clock is ticking” for him to put to rest the doubts about his candidacy raised by a disastrous debate performance. Multiple times, Mr. Murphy emphasized his deadline, saying that he, as well as voters, must see more action “this week.”Senator Michael Bennet, the Colorado Democrat who briefly ran for president himself, said Mr. Biden had to “reassure the American people that he can run a vigorous campaign to defeat Donald Trump.”Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a senior member of the Democratic leadership team, put out a statement that passed for fighting words, saying that the president “must do more to demonstrate that he can campaign strong enough to beat Donald Trump.”So far, Mr. Biden has done none of that.And yet, Democrats on Capitol Hill are stifling their doubts and falling in line behind him anyway.Having spent the last week and a half in various stages of private panic and public skepticism about Mr. Biden’s viability as a candidate and whispering among themselves about what the best way to push him aside might be — a strongly worded letter? a White House meeting? a high-level intervention? — top Democrats on Tuesday settled on a strategy many of them conceded could be disastrous: They would do nothing, at least for now.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      White House Doctor Kevin O’Connor Discussed Business With James Biden

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      Before Dr. Kevin O’Connor was appointed White House physician at the beginning of the Biden administration, he discussed a business venture with the president’s brother James Biden, but the doctor ultimately received no compensation, Mr. Biden’s lawyer said.The discussions revolved around James Biden’s involvement with a health care company called Americore, which was looking to expand a network of hospitals in underserved rural areas of the United States.Republicans have seized on the episode to suggest that Dr. O’Connor might have had incentive to minimize issues related to President Biden’s health. The White House rejected the speculation, with a spokesman calling it “ridiculous and insulting.”In his current role, Dr. O’Connor produced letters each of the three years following Mr. Biden’s physicals that attested the president was healthy and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” The assessments have come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks as Mr. Biden’s decline has become more apparent, particularly after his feeble performance in last month’s debate against former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.Representative James R. Comer, a Kentucky Republican who is chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter this week asking Dr. O’Connor to turn over documents related to James Biden and Americore, and to submit to a transcribed interview with committee staff.The White House dismissed Mr. Comer’s effort to draw a link between Dr. O’Connor’s statements about the president and his consultation with James Biden.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Democrats Seek Criminal Investigation of Justice Thomas Over Travel and Gifts

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      The senators said the Supreme Court justice’s failure to disclose lavish gifts and luxury travel showed a “willful pattern of disregard for ethics laws.”Two top Democratic senators have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas for possible violations of federal ethics and tax laws.Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Ron Wyden of Oregon sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland last week asking that he appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Thomas’s failure to disclose lavish gifts, luxury travel, a loan for a recreational vehicle and other perks given to him by wealthy friends.The request further intensified efforts by Senate Democrats to scrutinize Justice Thomas’s conduct at a time when they are trying to force Supreme Court justices to comply with stricter ethics and financial disclosure rules.“We do not make this request lightly,” the senators wrote in a joint statement. “Supreme Court justices are properly expected to obey laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety and to comply with the federal tax code.”“No government official should be above the law,” they added.Specifically, the senators asked that a special counsel investigate whether Justice Thomas violated federal ethics and tax laws by failing to disclose as income the $267,000 he received in forgiven debt for a luxury R.V.The senators wrote that Justice Thomas had “repeated opportunities” to explain his failure to disclose the gifts to the Senate Finance Committee, of which Mr. Wyden is the chairman, as well as the Judiciary Committee’s panel on federal courts, which Mr. Whitehouse leads.They also accused Justice Thomas of showing a “willful pattern of disregard for ethics laws,” behavior that they said surpassed that of other government officials who have been investigated by the Justice Department for “similar violations.”A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More

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      ‘Pass the Torch’ Sign at Biden Rally Costs Volunteer Role in State Campaign

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      Clint Keaveny took his place in the stands behind President Biden at a rally on Friday in Madison, Wis., and held up a sign that read, “Pass the torch, Joe.” Before the rally was over, Mr. Keaveny had lost his role with a Democratic congressional campaign.The event was the first in Mr. Biden’s weekend blitz of campaign events in must-win states to rebuff critics after his halting debate performance on June 27. As the president took the stage, in full view of cameras, Mr. Keaveny unveiled his poster, made of taped-together printer paper and stuffed in his waistband. It had been written by Mr. Keaveny’s mother, he said.The moment quickly went viral. His boss noticed.Before Mr. Keaveny had even left the event, Kristin Lyerly, the Wisconsin congressional candidate for whom he was a communications volunteer, had seen the images circulating online. She called him and asked that he part ways with the campaign, to which he agreed.“He held up a sign that was inconsistent with the values and the ideals of our campaign,” Dr. Lyerly said in an interview. “I was just so profoundly disappointed that I called him right then and there.” Mr. Keaveny, 27, said that Mr. Biden has been a great president, but he does not believe that he can defeat former President Donald J. Trump in November.“It pains me to feel like a black sheep,” Mr. Keaveny said. “But I believe in following my conscience.”The episode with Mr. Keaveny comes as questions over loyalty to President Biden in the Democratic Party are breaking out into the open and some are calling for a new nominee. Mr. Biden has repeatedly pledged to stay the course.Dr. Lyerly is running for a vacant seat that represents a swath of northeast Wisconsin, including Green Bay, a competitive district that leans Republican. Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican, resigned from the seat in April. More

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      Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Backs Biden: ‘He Is Not Leaving This Race’

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      Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, one of the most prominent progressives in the Democratic caucus, said late Monday that she stood behind President Biden.“I have spoken to the president over the weekend,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez told reporters outside the Capitol. “I have spoken with him extensively. He made clear then and he has made clear since that he is in this race. The matter is closed.”She highlighted his efforts on Monday to reiterate that message. “Joe Biden is our nominee,” she said. “He is not leaving this race, he is in this race, and I support him.”Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said that it was essential for Democrats to turn their focus back to former President Donald J. Trump and what he would do if elected again. She told Mr. Biden to “increasingly commit to the issues that are critically important to working people across this country” — like expanding Medicare and Social Security and making housing more affordable, she said.“What I think is critically important right now is that we focus on what it takes to win in November,” she said. “Because he is running against Donald Trump, who is a man with 34 felony convictions — that has committed 34 felony crimes. And not a single Republican has asked for Donald Trump to not be the nominee.”Members of Congress returned to Washington on Monday after a recess, and Democrats have been meeting and discussing their path forward.While a handful of House Democrats have called for Mr. Biden to step aside since his debate performance last month, he has received politically important support from others, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — and now at least one member of the so-called Squad, a group of progressives of which Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a part. More

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      Biden Trumpets Small Donors as Rich Backers Retreat

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      In a nationally broadcast interview on Monday, President Biden pushed back on rich Democrats who want him to end his re-election campaign, saying, “I don’t care what the millionaires think.”Small donors, he made clear, were coming through for him.But hours later, Mr. Biden joined a private call with his top donors and fund-raisers to reassure them. “It matters,” he told them of their support.The seemingly contradictory messages show the conundrum facing the president as he grapples with the fallout from his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald J. Trump last month. In order to continue to fund his presidential campaign, Mr. Biden will most likely need the support of wealthy Democratic Party backers, but they have been among the loudest voices calling for him to end his bid for re-election.In trying to diffuse their opposition, Mr. Biden — a politician who has long relied on the party’s establishment to fund his campaign — has adopted a surprisingly populist anti-elite message that, in some ways, echoes Mr. Trump’s.Major donors are warning that the party will lose the White House and down-ballot races with Mr. Biden atop the ticket. A growing chorus of donors has been pushing — first quietly, then publicly — for him to step aside to allow a replacement nominee and threatening to withhold their cash unless that happens.While Mr. Biden’s campaign has continued to court wealthy Democrats, including working to schedule fund-raising receptions despite uncertain interest, the president has also publicly cast the backlash from major donors as a sign that he is sticking up for regular people against moneyed interests. But polls showing that many rank-and-file Democratic voters also have deep concerns about his age.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More