Dean Phillips calls on Democrats to hold ‘immediate vote of confidence’ on Biden

Lawmaker who unsuccessfully challenged Biden in primary says fear of retribution stops some from speaking publicly

Dean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman who unsuccessfully mounted a primary challenge to Joe Biden earlier this year, has called on fellow elected Democrats to hold an immediate vote of confidence" on the president and share the results directly with him.

Phillips's idea - discussed Sunday in a Wall Street Journal column that he penned as well as repeated on US political talkshows - comes as Democrats find themselves locked in a crisis over Biden's viability to win re-election in November, exposing deep fissures within party unity.