White House officials meeting with Arab, Muslim leaders in Chicago ahead of Illinois primary

White House officials are set to meet on Thursday with Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian Americans leaders in Chicago, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to The Hill.

The meeting, which was first reported by CNN, comes as President Biden has faced increasing pushback from the pro-Palestinian community over his stance on the Israel-Gaza war.

The Illinois Democratic primary is next week and there’s an effort there to get Democrats to cast protest votes against Biden.

The organization, Muslim Civic Coalition-Activate, launched a Protest Power Vote campaign that is encouraging voters in Illinois to write in “Gaza” on their primary ballots or to leave it blank. Additionally, the “Abandon Biden” organization has a presence in Illinois and has been advocating for protest votes.

The push for a protest vote in Illinois follows similar efforts in Michigan and Minnesota. In Michigan, 100,000 people voted “uncommitted,” while 45,000 people voted “uncommitted” in Minnesota. Biden officially clinched the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday.

Biden is traveling to Michigan on Thursday and is not expected to meet with leaders in the Arab American community while he’s there. Biden has pushed for a temporary cease-fire in the Middle East to free hostages and get aid into Gaza while advocates have pushed for him to call a permeant cease-fire.

CNN reported that White House officials meeting with the leaders in Chicago include Tom Perez, director of intergovernmental affairs, Steve Benjamin, director of public engagement, and Mazen Basrawi, liaison to Muslim-American communities, among others.