Democratic discontent with the current head of their party appeared to only grow this week.

President Joe Biden’s solo news conference was cast as a high stakes event where he could redeem himself from a debate debacle last month that left his party deciding whether the 81-year-old was capable of beating former President Donald Trump in November.

Not all were impressed or had their concerns assuaged, including U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Salem Democrat who has called on Biden to step down.

“The reality is that the majority of Democrats in this country, but I think also in the Democratic caucus in the House, and I bet in the Senate too, are very concerned about the president and think he should step aside so that we can win this race,” Moulton said on GBH News this past week.

Moulton is not the only Democrat in Congress who thinks Biden needs to exit the presidential race to let another person run against Trump. More than a dozen, including others from New England like U.S. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, have publicly called on Biden to step aside.

Biden has resisted the calls, saying during a press conference at the NATO Summit in Washington that he has to “finish this job.”

“If I slow down and I can’t get the job done, that’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it,” Biden said. “But there’s no indication of that yet — none.”

It was the same press conference where he mixed up Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump and the same day he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin,” which he quickly corrected.

Himes issued a statement shortly after the Harris gaffe calling on Biden to withdraw

“The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism. I no longer believe that is Joe Biden, and I hope that, as he has throughout a lifetime of public service, he will continue to put our nation first and, as he promised, make way for a new generation of leaders,” Himes said.

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The Connecticut congressman was echoing concerns that have likely been expressed by other federal lawmakers behind closed doors. Moulton said many of his colleagues were staying publicly silent because of “political calculations.”

But for Moulton, “it’s time to be honest about this.”

“It’s time to be honest with the American people, with the constituents I represent in Massachusetts, and, frankly, be honest with the president. I spent days making calls in private, behind the scenes, trying to do this as respectfully as I could, speaking with folks on the inner circle, but it became quickly apparent that the president wasn’t listening. And I think as a representative, I owe people my honest views,” he said.

Other Massachusetts Democrats working at the State House have asked Biden to exit the race. Gov. Maura Healey has suggested he “evaluate” whether he is the best candidate to take on Biden, making her one of the first governors to suggest he bow out.

Other state executives have gone further.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he was “simpatico” with Himes a day after the congressman issued his plea for Biden to get out of the 2024 presidential race.

“I think we’ve come to the same conclusion,” Lamont said.

Only time will tell if others do as well.

For a state that likes to be first, Massachusetts is last in the nation…

Massachusetts is the last state in the nation to not have a fiscal year 2025 spending plan in place after Pennsylvania approved their state budget this past week, according to the National Conference of State Legislators.

It is unclear whether top Democrats hammering out a budget for Massachusetts are close to a deal. One Republican lawmaker who is part of the six-person panel of negotiators said negotiators are “extremely close.”

The two budget proposals from the House and Senate have similar bottom lines but differ in key areas like how each branch proposes spending $1.3 billion in revenue from a 4% surtax on incomes on $1 million known as the “Millionaires Tax” or “Fair Share Amendment.”

In other news, Marty Walsh gets married…

Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh tied the knot with his longtime partner, according to multiple media reports.

Walsh, who also served as Biden’s labor secretary and now heads up the NHL players union, married Lorrie Higgins in March during a trip in the Caribbean, CommonWealth Beacon reported this week.

Materials from the Associated Press and State House News Service were used in this report.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh at his election party with his girlfriend Lorrie Higgins after winning his second term as the mayor of Boston at the Fairmont Copley Plaza on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. (Staff Photo by Matt Stone/Boston Herald)