Two of the Democratic Party’s most powerful and popular personalities have assumed quiet, behind-the scenes roles as elements of the party maneuver to push President Joe Biden out of his faltering reelection bid.

They include former President Barack Obama, who was in touch with Hollywood icon and Democratic donor George Clooney before the actor published his buzzy and brutal NYT op-ed Wednesday calling on Biden to step aside as the presumptive nominee.

The two men, who are friendly, both attended the L.A. fundraiser Clooney referenced in his piece, where he said he’d beheld a diminished Biden and that the leader he had interacted with was “the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”

While Obama did not encourage or advise Clooney to say what he said, he also didn’t object to it, people familiar with their exchange said. The lack of pushback came despite the former president stepping out as one of the first big voices defending Biden following his abysmal debate performance last month — and as many of Obama’s former aides have emerged as some of the incumbent’s biggest critics.