Democratic leaders in the House and Senate said Thursday they do not intend to persuade Sen. Bernie Sanders to drop his bid for the party’s presidential nomination, even though Hillary Clinton has clinched it.
“He has to make his own decisions,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said when reporters asked her if she believes he should get out of the race.
Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., doesn’t plan to ask him to quit either, according to a top Reid aide.
Sanders, who is an Independent but caucuses and votes with the Democrats, will meet with Reid in the minority leader’s office this afternoon following a trip to the White House to huddle with President Obama.
Sanders told supporters on Tuesday that he plans to remain in the race until the July convention in Philadelphia, but admits it would be difficult to win now that Clinton appears to have crossed the delegate threshold.
Pelosi said Democrats have faced similar situations, such as the 1980 convention where Sen. Ted Kennedy conceded to President Jimmy Carter.
Pelosi said she believes Sanders is trying to be respectful to his millions of impassioned supporters, which is why he is going to compete in the District of Columbia Democratic primary next week.
“Sen. Sanders wants to be respectful of the process until the end, until the people have spoken,” he said.
