President Joe Biden is continuing to host donors at the White House ahead of the 2024 election despite pushback from his legal counsel, according to a report Wednesday.
Less than a year out from the 2024 election, Biden has reportedly been inviting donors to the White House for private meals and briefings, a practice which raised alarm among the White House Counsel’s office because it has restrictions on such events, people familiar with the matter told Axios. Biden has reportedly stopped taking donors to the Oval Office after warnings from the White House Counsel’s office, however his meals and briefings are expected to continue, people familiar with the matter told the outlet. (RELATED: Biden, Harris Kick Off Election Year With Visit To Key Declining Voting Bloc)
“There are certain rooms in the White House, particularly in the residence that are not covered under the Hatch Act,” Kedric Payne, ethics director at the Campaign Legal Center, told Axios.
“The president is allowed to legally meet with and entertain donors at the White House,” Payne told the outlet. “But you cannot give campaign contributions or solicit for campaign contributions while in the White House.”
Vanessa Brito works on placing campaign signs supporting President Joe Biden into the back of a pickup truck before the third Republican Presidential Primary Debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County on November 08, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The White House Counsel’s office has restrictions on where the president can host donors and even who he can invite, Axios reported. While donors are visiting the White House, they may be hosted in one of three locations including the White House map room, the old family dining room or the tennis pavilion, the outlet reported.
Biden has reportedly been hosting donors at the White House to reassure his base ahead of the 2024 election as former President Donald Trump looks to be the likely Republican presidential nominee, three people familiar with the meetings told the Washington Post. Since launching his reelection campaign in April 2023, Biden has held about half a dozen events, working to assure the donors about his fitness for president, while discussing other topics such as Trump, the Israel-Hamas war and access to abortion. (RELATED: Jill Biden Is Reportedly Micro-Managing Joe’s Schedule To Get Him More Rest)
“It has dispelled anybody who has any doubts about his determination and his energy and his passion,” one person told the Washington Post about the success of the meetings to quell unrest.
Previous presidents have hosted donors at the White House ahead of their reelection, including Trump, Axios noted.
“It is typical for any president, regardless of party, to host supporters at the White House complex, which is both a working office as well as a personal residence,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Axios. “President Biden and his team take all rules concerning the White House and re-elections seriously, and we’re proud of that.”