President Joe Biden met with groups of Democrats in Congress on Friday to shore up support amid as calls for the incumbent to step down from the ticket continue

The meetings come after a huddle with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, which the New York Democrat detailed in a letter on Friday morning.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden met with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus to shore up support  amid calls for the incumbent to step down from the ticket

  • House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues on Friday that he met with Biden on Thursday and "directly expressed the full breadth" of House Democrats' perspectives and concerns to Biden; the letter did not say if he urged the president to drop out

  • While Biden drew largely positive feedback for his performance during the closely watched news conference, his performance doesn't seem to have eased the concerns of his party; a few Democrats called for him to step aside Thursday and Friday in the aftermath of the press conference

  • Biden has long mantained that he is staying in the race, saying that he still believes he's the best candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee

Jeffries said in a letter he "directly expressed the full breadth" of House Democrats' perspectives and concerns to Biden, but did not say if he urged the president to drop out.

"Over the past several days, House Democrats have engaged in a thoughtful and extensive discussion about the future of our country, during a time when freedom, democracy and the economic well-being of everyday Americans are on the line. Our discourse has been candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive," Jeffries wrote.

During the meeting, Jeffries said that he "directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together."

It's unclear whether the meeting took place before or after Biden's press conference at the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday evening. CNN and ABC News reported, citing sources, that it took place after the presser.

While Biden drew largely positive feedback for his performance during the closely watched news conference, his performance doesn't seem to have eased the concerns of his party. A few Democrats called for him to step aside Thursday and Friday in the aftermath of the press conference.

Nor did they seem to be reassured by recent polling that showed somewhat positive news for Biden, including an ABC News / Washington Post poll released Thursday that showed him tied with Trump, or the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Friday which showed the Democrat up by two points.

All told, 21 Democrats -- 20 in the House and one in the Senate -- have called for Biden to step down from the top of the ticket as of Friday afternoon.

Biden met Friday with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. During his virtual meeting with the BOLD PAC, the political arm of the CHC, Biden "delivered remarks and answered questions" from the group's members, his campaign said.

One California member of the CHC called for Biden to step aside after the meeting, while another Golden State lawmaker expressed gratitude for the president's time and attention.

"More than grateful that President Biden took time to talk to our caucus," Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., told Spectrum News. "He spoke frankly to us, he answered hard questions, and most importantly, he showed up. Because he knows how important our community is. It was a productive conversation that covered many important issues."

Biden also met virtually Friday with with leadership from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and members of its political arm, ASPIRE PAC, where he also took questions, per the campaign.

Biden is set to meet with the influential New Democrat Coalition on Saturday, sources told Spectrum News.

At a press conference of his own earlier Thursday, Jeffries said conversations were continuing among his conference about Biden's candidacy, but would not detail the substance of those discussions.

“Throughout this week, as House Democrats, we have engaged in a process of talking to each other,” Jeffries said at his weekly Capitol Hill news conference. “Those conversations have been candid, comprehensive and clear-eyed, and they continue.

“As long as those conversations are ongoing, I'm going to respect the sanctity of those conversations until we conclude that process.”

Biden has long mantained that he is staying in the race, saying that he still believes he's the best candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.

"That’s why I’m not handing off to another generation: I’ve got to finish this job. I’ve got to finish this job, because there’s so much at stake," Biden said Thursday night.

Spectrum News' Cassie Semyon and Ryan Chatelain contributed to this report.