Raskin privately pushed Biden to rethink his candidacy

Driving the news: In a letter to Biden dated July 6 first reported by the New York Times, the former Jan. 6 committee member compared Biden to a tiring Red Sox pitcher whose refusal to quit ultimately cost his team a championship game.

• "There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics," Raskin wrote.
• Raskin, now the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, urged Biden to "caucus with the team. ... Hear them out," adding, "You will make the right decision."

Zoom out: In the weeks since the letter, Biden has been more or less taking Raskin's advice, calling various lawmakers and meeting with at least five congressional caucuses.

• In many of the meetings, he has been told to various degrees that he needed to step aside. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said it in no uncertain terms during a Hispanic Caucus call last week.
• It emerged on Wednesday that Biden has heard from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), all of whom conveyed lawmakers' concerns about Biden's impact down the ballot.

• Biden has repeatedly stressed to congressional Democrats that he is not dropping out.

The other side: The Biden campaign noted the president still retains support on Capitol Hill, pointing to the dozens of House and Senate Democrats who have said they support him as the party's nominee.

• They also pointed to Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) acting as surrogates for the Biden campaign in Milwaukee on Thursday.