The final months of President Joe Biden‘s single White House term have taken on a new finality, as he is not preparing to hand the reins over to his No. 2, Vice President Kamala Harris, and instead will be turning over the Oval Office to President-elect Donald Trump.
That means he has just 10 weeks left to accomplish his remaining goals for governance and, potentially, redefine his legacy as he holds a historically low approval rating, just 38.5% on average, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Biden himself addressed his dwindling time in government during remarks delivered in the White House Rose Garden Thursday morning, where he vowed to “make every day count” and moved to defend his economic record, an issue that is likely to play a large part in how Biden’s presidency is defined.
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Record-high inflation plagued Biden’s term, who argued during his Thursday remarks that people will begin to see the “vast majority” of benefits come over the following decade.
“You know, we’re leaving behind the strongest economy in the world. I know people are still hurting, but things are changing rapidly. Together, we’ve changed America for the better,” he declared. “Now we have 74 days to finish the term, our term.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre initially breezed over Biden’s final agenda items during Thursday’s White House press briefing, the first time reporters had an opportunity to question the Biden White House publicly following Harris’s loss.
“The president and the vice president are proud to have changed America for the better. That’s going to be their focus in the upcoming remaining days,” she stated. “You heard the president say that we have 74 days left of his administration, and they are going to make every day count on behalf of the American people, regardless of who voted for them.”
But when pressed later, Jean-Pierre did outline some priorities of the Biden White House, including being “committed” to surging another round of aid to Ukraine.
Biden has long argued that Trump, during his first term in office, negatively affected America’s standing on the global stage and ostracized U.S. allies, especially at NATO. The president, according to the White House, is
Trump has suggested that he wants to cut funding to Ukraine and instead broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
Jean-Pierre declined to comment on those reports when pressed by reporters Thursday, but she did add some specifics about how Biden will spend his remaining time in office.
“We’re going to make sure we keep the government open. We’re going to deliver assistance for communities devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other recent disasters. We’re going to pass the [National Defense Authorization Act] — that’s important — and we’re going to make sure we confirm well-qualified judicial nominees,” she stated. “That’s going to be certainly our focus in the next 74 days. I’m just not going to get into the next administration.”
Jean-Pierre also said that the president will continue to work toward negotiating a ceasefire in the Middle East in addition to the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
“We’re going to continue to work to advance diplomatic efforts, obviously, to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all the hostages,” Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “That’s what we’re going to continue to do, and as well as our efforts to get to a resolution in Lebanon that ensures citizens on both sides of the blue line can safely return home.” And so that’s going to continue in the next 74 days. That’s going to continue to be a focus, and that’s going to be continued.”
However, the White House signaled that Biden has no plans to try to address some of the other Democratic parties’s longstanding efforts to advance new gun control measures or pass voter protection legislation.
Biden also still has plans to travel to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and G20 Summit later this month.
And as customary of modern, outgoing presidents, Biden will likely issue a final round of presidential pardons and commutations, though the president’s son, Hunter, won’t be on that list.
Jean-Pierre confirmed to reporters Thursday that the president stands by his promise not to intervene in either of Hunter Biden’s looming sentencings for gun and tax-related crimes.
During his Thursday morning remarks, Biden pledged to work alongside the Trump team to “ensure a peaceful and orderly transition.”
Biden also made a point of pushing back on conspiracy theories surrounding elections in general and urged people on both sides of the political aisle to “bring down the temperature.”
“I also hope we can lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent, and it can be trusted, win or lose. I also hope we can restore the respect for all our election workers who busted their necks and took risks to the outset, we should thank them,” the president stated. “Thank them for staffing voting sites, counting the votes, protecting the very integrity of the election. Many of them are volunteers who do it simply out of love for their country, and as they did their duty as citizens, I will do my duty as president. I’ll fulfill my oath, and I will honor the Constitution. On Jan. 20, we’ll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.”
Still, earlier reporting had indicated that the Biden administration was seeking to “Trump-proof” both domestic and foreign policy earlier this year in the event Trump did end up winning a second White House term.
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And on the home front, Biden has taken specific steps to buttress environmental regulations under attack by Republicans, provide additional job security for federal workers, and rewrite Title IX regulations at colleges and universities across the country.
Back in April, the Biden administration finalized rules in April that would require the second Trump administration to jump through new hoops that could delay a mass firing of federal workers, as Trump has pledged to implement cuts to the federal government.