Scoop: Schumer open to dumping Biden in 2024

• Over the last 12 days, Schumer has been listening to donors' ideas and suggestions about the best way forward for the party, according to three people familiar with the matter.
• The majority leader is one of several Democrats, including former President Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has the political and personal standing to convince Biden to step aside. Even so, Biden can still dig in and the delegates are pledged to him.
• "As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November," Schumer said in a statement after this story was published.

What we're hearing: Both before and after the debate, Schumer's famous flip phone burned up with donors, sharing their views. Schumer has been listening.

• Schumer hasn't indicated who, if anyone, might be a more viable candidate than Biden.
• His focus is on defeating former President Trump and retaining the Democratic majority in the Senate.
• In addition to donors, he is receiving feedback from his fellow senators.

Following Tuesday's caucus lunch, Schumer invited senior Biden campaign officials to brief members and directly address any concerns they might have.

Driving the news: Biden's command to lawmakers to "end" the talk of replacing him has not been heeded.

• Today, Pelosi openly suggested that Biden should reconsider his decision. "It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run," Pelosi said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "The time is running short."
• This afternoon, Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) became the eighth House Democrat to call for Biden to drop out of the race.

Zoom out: Schumer's conversations are part of a roiling debate in the Democratic Party, with prominent donors — including George Clooney — now calling on Biden to drop out of the race.

• Lawmakers and donors are waiting for more polling data, most of which has been negative for Biden, before making a potential move against the president.
• They are also watching his public performances, with many waiting to see how he does in a post-NATO press conference Thursday.

Zoom in: In Tuesday's Democratic caucus meeting, Schumer didn't tip his hand on whether he thought Biden could beat Trump or he should lead his party's ticket in November.

• But Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) voiced their concerns that Biden is likely to lose the election.

• They were joined by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who later in the day took his private warnings public, telling CNN, "I think that we could lose the whole thing."
• Multiple Democratic senators told Axios on Wednesday that Schumer is listening to the concerns of his whole caucus on the topic of Biden's future.

The other side: Biden did receive public support from several senators today, including from Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

• "I believe President Biden can win," Peters said, according to the Detroit News. "And I believe that we'll be able to hold the Senate majority."
• When Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) was asked by reporters Wednesday if he agreed with Bennet that Biden was in danger of losing, Casey responded: "No."
• "The president can win and I think he will win," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said.

The bottom line: Even before Biden's dismal showing, Schumer was telling allies that the late June debate date — the earliest debate in modern presidential history — had two obvious advantages:

• It would give Biden time to recover if he performed poorly.
• Or it would give Democrats the option of finding a different standard-bearer if Biden's candidacy wasn't salvageable.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Schumer and to add more comments from Democratic senators.