President Joe Biden will spend his final days in office traveling the world, doling out money, and basking in legacy building as the only Democrat who defeated President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden campaigned hard against Trump both before and after dropping out of the 2024 race. Now, he’s got roughly eight weeks to fulfill the last wishes of his presidency before handing the White House back to the man he took it from four years ago.
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“We have 74 days to finish the term — our term,” Biden said in his first public remarks following the election. “Let’s make every day count. That’s the responsibility we have to the American people.”
As for his agenda in the final two months, Biden first off is going to take advantage of his presidential jumbo jet, Air Force One, for some last-minute travel. He’s touring South America at the moment, meeting with leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Peru, touring the Amazon by air in central Brazil, and then attending the G20 Summit in Rio De Janeiro.T
That’s not all. The first week of December Biden will travel to Luanda, Angola, where he will meet with leaders of that country and celebrate its “role as a strategic partner and regional leader,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
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Back in Washington, the Biden administration has already made extensive efforts to Trump-proof the federal government, doing much of the work last spring in order to circumvent the Congressional Review Act’s 60-day clawback provision.
With that done, Biden and his deputies can focus on spending down some of the money his administration was able to secure from Congress. For example, he announced on Thursday more than $1.4 billion to support climate change initiatives, including $1.2 billion heading to the Department of Transportation to empower states to use “cleaner construction materials for transportation projects.”
Spending the money now prevents Trump from either trying to impound it after taking office or seeking to redirect it toward other means.
Funds are going out to other places as well. Melinda Pierce, legislative director of the Sierra Club, told the Associated Press she’s seeing “explosions” of money going out the door.
Indeed, Biden released a video on X Friday morning that said $45 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 will “go toward improving commutes all across America.”
The same day, the Department of Transportation announced $3.4 billion grants for road, rail, and port improvements, something it said will help solidify Biden’s legacy because the work will “endure for generations.”
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Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said Biden should also prioritize getting aid to Ukraine, given Trump and Vice President-elect J. D. Vance’s skeptical posture toward giving more funds to the war-torn country.
“He’s trying to get as much money and weapons to Ukraine as possible,” Bannon said. “I think Ukraine will be in a dangerous position with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin knocking on the door. Trump’s probably not going to put up much resistance to Putin’s invasion.”
Other objectives will include confirming as many judges as possible before Trump takes office, and a few final stabs at student loan forgiveness ahead of a change in leadership at the Department of Education.
“I think the legacy of Joe Biden is that he made important starts in turning the country toward the future, both economically and environmentally,” Bannon said. “If I was him, I’d do everything I can to protect that legacy.”
Biden himself seems to be relieved to have the pressure of the election behind him and the end of his presidency in view. Several observers noticed he’s seemed more at ease and comfortable since Trump’s victory, delivering a gaffe-free speech urging Democrats to keep up the fight and giving Trump a warm reception when they met at the White House on Wednesday.
Biden’s newfound ease drew speculation that he may have been glad Trump won, given that he was forced out of his own reelection bid by Democratic Party insiders over the summer.
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But Craig Shirley, a presidential historian who is writing a book about Trump’s reelection, said it should be expected for Biden to feel a sense of relief as his term comes to a close.
“He’s glad to be relieved of the pressure of the presidency,” Shirley said. “No man knows about the presidency until they actually become president, about the stress and the strain it takes on them.”
As to the notion that Biden might be secretly glad that Vice President Kamala Harris lost, Shirley said that’s only natural.
“Wouldn’t you feel that way?” he said. “If you were pushed out because everybody said you would lose, and then your successor loses anyway? You’re thinking to yourself two things. One, ‘ha ha I proved everybody wrong.’ And two, ‘if I had stayed in, I might have won it.’”
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After Harris’s defeat and Biden catching blame for not dropping out sooner, the White House was quick to point out Biden’s legacy.
“This is the president who has been the only person who has been able to beat Donald Trump,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “That is true. In 2020, he was able to do that.”