Jamie Dimon to meet with group of House Democrats on Tuesday

Tribune Content Agency

WASHINGTON — JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon will meet privately with a group of moderate House Democrats on Tuesday, with banking and the U.S. economy on the agenda, according to people familiar with the plans.

The closed-door lunch with the New Democrat Coalition takes place as Dimon has been urged to enter the 2024 presidential race, despite his protests that he does not plan to run.

Dimon frequently meets with lawmakers and government officials. On May 17, he along with other banking executives met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, during the extended standoff over the US debt ceiling.

He also spoke the same day with a bipartisan group of House members — including Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York — about improving employment opportunities for individuals with criminal records.

The Tuesday get-together was reported earlier by Semafor.

The New Democrat Coalition describes itself on its website as being “made up of nearly 100 forward-thinking Democrats who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies.”

A spokesperson for JPMorgan declined to comment. Another JPMorgan spokesman, Joe Evangelisti, said earlier Monday that “Jamie has no plans to run for office.”

Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman said late last month that Dimon should become a presidential candidate, describing him as a political centrist who could beat President Joe Biden in a primary or former President Donald Trump in a general election.

“There is nothing more for him to achieve at JPM. He has already been crowned the world’s best banker,” Ackman wrote on Twitter.

Dimon, 67, told Bloomberg Television that a political career had crossed his mind and “maybe one day I’ll serve my country in one capacity or another.” The comment set off a fresh round of speculation that he might make a run for the White House.

In 2018, Dimon claimed he could defeat Trump, asserting that he was “as tough” and “smarter.” Later that day, however, he said he wasn’t running for president and his comment “proves I wouldn’t make a good politician.” The following year, Dimon, who assumed his role at the bank in 2005, said that while he did think about a presidential candidacy, he decided against it.