White House in damage control mode as Biden prepares to meet with governors

President Joe Biden will begin his post-debate campaign in earnest on Wednesday when he meets with Democratic lawmakers amid growing concerns in the party about the 2024 election and Biden’s ability to run his campaign.

The meeting comes nearly a week after Biden’s volatile showdown with Donald Trump, in which Biden’s raspy voice and meandering responses left Democrats panicking about their presumptive nominee.

Some allies have questioned why Biden did not immediately act more forcefully to publicly assuage the concerns not only of his fellow Democrats but also of voters.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who is attending the White House meeting with Democrats on Wednesday and is considered a possible replacement if Biden were to withdraw, told CNN the president “needs to communicate more” if he plans to rectify his poor debate performance.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre faced that question and more in her first press briefing Tuesday since the CNN debate. She acknowledged that Biden had a “bad night” but that their focus now was on turning the page with several campaign events and a televised interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Friday.

She will likely face tougher questions about the new reports and comments from Democrats at Wednesday’s briefing.

The day after the debate, a more fiery Biden spoke at a rally in North Carolina and held campaign fundraisers in New York and New Jersey.

He then spent the rest of the weekend in Delaware, behind closed doors, with his family and advisers. Since returning to Washington on Monday, Biden has delivered brief remarks on the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and the extreme heat, but he has spoken frequently to a teleprompter and has not taken any questions from the press.

Meanwhile, pressure on Biden has been mounting within the Democratic Party, peaking Tuesday when Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first member of Congress to call on the president to withdraw from the race.

Over the past 24 hours, in damage control mode, Biden has spoken with Democratic House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democratic Rep. James Clyburn and Sen. Chris Coons, ABC News has learned.

A senior Biden adviser told ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang that the president’s message to congressional leaders is that he still has a path to victory, that the race hasn’t changed much and that his campaign still has the money and the organization.

In addition to Biden’s outreach, chief of staff Jeff Zients was scheduled to hold a conference call with all staff on Wednesday about “the importance of all of us continuing to do the work and execute the mission together as a team,” according to a White House official.

Biden was scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris before meeting with Democratic governors and other lawmakers in the early evening.

Among those who will meet with Biden in person are Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Allison Pecorin, Molly Nagle and Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.