Washington (CNN)House
Democrats roughed up Sen. Bernie Sanders in a closed-door session
Wednesday after he deflected questions about when he would formally back
Hillary Clinton for president, with a group of members booing him at
one point, according to three Democrats who attended the meeting.
The
vast majority of House Democrats endorsed Clinton's candidacy early in
the primary process, but Sanders was invited to attend the weekly
meeting as a courtesy extended to all presidential candidates. When
Clinton appeared last month, she was applauded and praised for her
commitment to help Democrats regain control of Congress this fall.
Many
Democrats have been reluctant to publicly criticize Sanders for
continuing his campaign because they want to ensure that the supporters
he activated through the long primary contest will come out and vote for
the Democratic ticket in November. But some members let out their
frustration with the Vermont senator on Wednesday morning, with one
member calling Sanders' appearance before the caucus a "total display of
self-obsession."
During the
discussion, Sanders told the group "the goal is not to win elections"
and took a dramatic pause, before adding that the aim was to win the
battle of ideas, according to multiple sources in the room.
A
series of Democrats pressed Sanders to say when he would end his
efforts and endorse Clinton and work to unite the party. But after Reps.
John Garamendi of California, Mark Takano of California and Joyce
Beatty of Ohio, failed to get a concrete answer from the senator,
roughly a dozen members booed him inside the room.
During
one exchange several members chanted "timeline, timeline" when Sanders'
sidestepped a question on when he would back Clinton.
Asked
about his message to the House Democratic Caucus, Sanders said as he
left the session, "We've got to get a large voter turnout. If we get a
large voter turnout, Democrats will regain control of the Senate and I
believe they're going to take the House back."
House
Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, who presided over the
meeting, said he never heard any boos during the session, but downplayed
the dissent, saying the discussion was "animated." He said members did
focus on the need to unify, and Sanders informed House Democrats that
Clinton was announcing her support for his approach on college
affordability.
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