House progressive leader Pramila Jayapal calls herself a Biden 'convert,' says he should run for reelection

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House progressive leader Pramila Jayapal calls herself a Biden 'convert,' says he should run for reelection
Rep. Pramila JayapalAnna Moneymaker/Getty Images
  • The head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus called herself a Joe Biden "convert."
  • Rep. Pramila Jayapal backed Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a leader of the House progressive wing, is on Team Biden and surprised to find herself there.

The head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus backed Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. But she has since found an ally in President Joe Biden, known as a moderate.

"He was not my first or second choice for president, but I am a convert," Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, told POLITICO of the president. "I never thought I would say this, but I believe he should run for another term and finish this agenda we laid out."

Some progressive Democrats have praised Biden's White House as eager to engage with them, and they have credited Chief of Staff Ron Klain for keeping the lines of communication open. They're hoping speculation about Klain leaving the White House isn't true, POLITICO reported.

Progressive leaders have lauded Biden for victories on a massive COVID rescue package, a generational infrastructure plan, and prescription drug prices and climate change legislation.

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"What the president understands is you need this progressive base — young people, folks of color — and that progressives issues are popular," Jayapal told POLITICO. "Whoever is in the White House should understand that, because it is a basic tenet now of how you win elections."

Sanders, an independent, has said he would support Biden in 2024, though he reportedly hasn't ruled out another run in the event of an open primary.

Rep. Ro Khanna, Sanders' former presidential campaign co-chair, comes up as a possible presidential contender, but he is also backing Biden for another term.

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