Presidency of Joe Biden

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the Joe Biden presidency.
For the administration in which he served as vice president under Barack Obama, see Presidency of Barack Obama.

Presidency of Joe Biden
Presidency of Joe Biden
January 20, 2021 – present
CabinetSee list
PartyDemocratic
Election2020
SeatWhite House
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Donald Trump (2nd) →

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U.S. Senator from Delaware
47th Vice President of the United States
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46th President of the United States
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Joe Biden's signature
Seal of the President of the United States

Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021.[1][2] Biden, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served as vice president for two terms under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, took office after his victory in the 2020 presidential election over the incumbent president, Donald Trump of the Republican Party. Upon his inauguration, he became the oldest president in American history, breaking the record set by Ronald Reagan.[3] Biden entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and increased political polarization.[4] He withdrew his bid for a second term in the 2024 presidential election due to low popularity and concerns over his age and health.[5] He is to be succeeded by Trump in January 2025, who won the aforementioned election.

Day one actions of his presidency included restoring U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement, revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and halting funding for Trump's border wall.[6] On his second day, he issued a series of executive orders to reduce the impact of COVID-19, including invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950, and set an early goal of achieving one hundred million COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States in his first 100 days.[7] The first major legislation signed into law by Biden was the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that temporarily established expanded unemployment insurance and sent $1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans in response to continued economic pressure from COVID-19.[8] He signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a ten-year plan brokered by Biden alongside Democrats and Republicans in Congress to invest in American roads, bridges, public transit, ports and broadband access.[9]

Biden proposed a significant expansion of the U.S. social safety net through the Build Back Better Act, but those efforts, along with voting rights legislation, failed in Congress. In August 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a domestic appropriations bill that included some of the provisions of the Build Back Better Act after the entire bill failed to pass. It included significant federal investment in climate and domestic clean energy production, tax credits for solar panels, electric cars and other home energy programs as well as a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, an insulin price cap, and a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. In late 2022, Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and codified same-sex and interracial marriage in the United States. Other domestic legislation signed during his term included the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major federal gun control law in nearly three decades;[10] the CHIPS and Science Act, bolstering the semiconductor and manufacturing industry; the Honoring our PACT Act, expanding health care for US veterans; the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act; and the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making Juneteenth a federal holiday in the United States. He appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court—the first Black woman to serve on the court. In response to the debt-ceiling crisis of 2023, Biden negotiated and signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which restrains federal spending for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, implements minor changes to SNAP and TANF, includes energy permitting reform, claws back some IRS funding and unspent money for COVID-19, and suspends the debt ceiling to January 1, 2025.[11] He established the American Climate Corps and created the first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. On September 26, 2023, Biden visited a United Auto Workers picket line during the 2023 United Auto Workers strike, making him the first US president to visit one. Biden also rigorously enforced antitrust laws by appointing Lina Khan to head the FTC.[12]

The foreign policy goal of the Biden administration is to restore the US to a "position of trusted leadership" among global democracies in order to address the challenges posed by Russia and China. Biden signed AUKUS, an international security alliance together with Australia and the United Kingdom. He supported the expansion of NATO with the additions of Finland and Sweden. Biden approved a raid which led to the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the leader of the Islamic State, and approved a drone strike which killed Ayman Al Zawahiri, leader of Al-Qaeda. He completed the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan, declaring an end to nation-building efforts and shifting U.S. foreign policy toward strategic competition with China and, to a lesser extent, Russia.[13][14][15] However, during the withdrawal, the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban seized control, leading to Biden receiving bipartisan criticism. He responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia as well as providing Ukraine with over $100 billion in combined military, economic, and humanitarian aid.[16][17] During the Israel–Hamas war, Biden condemned the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militants as terrorism and announced American military support for Israel; he also sent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and brokered a four-day temporary pause and hostage exchange. Biden negotiated and oversaw the 2024 Ankara prisoner exchange, the largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, involving the release of twenty-six individuals, including American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former United States Marine Paul Whelan.

Biden began his term with over 50% approval ratings; however, these fell significantly after the withdrawal from Afghanistan,[18] and remained low as the country experienced high inflation and rising gas prices, even as they would eventually reduce over his presidency.[19][20] His age and mental fitness remained a frequent subject of discussion throughout his presidency, ultimately culminating in his late decision to not seek re-election.[21] Despite this, Biden oversaw the strongest economic recovery of any G7 nation post COVID-19 and one of the strongest economic recoveries in United States history, breaking a 70-year record for low unemployment,[22] and the creation of over 16 million new jobs, the most of any single term president.[23]

  1. ^ Martin, Jonathan; Burns, Alexander (November 7, 2020). "Biden Wins Presidency, Ending Four Tumultuous Years Under Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  2. ^ "When is inauguration day 2021?: Here's when president-elect Joe Biden will take office". Pennlive. November 7, 2020. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  3. ^ Peter, Josh (November 5, 2020). "Joe Biden will become the oldest president in American history, a title previously held by Ronald Reagan". USA Today. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  4. ^ Farley, Robert; Gore, D'Angelo; Jackson, Brooks (January 20, 2021). "Fact Check: What President Biden Inherits". NBC Bay Area. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  5. ^ Shear, Michael; Rogers, Katie; Entous, Adam (August 15, 2024). "He Still Thought He Could Win: Inside Biden's Decision to Drop Out". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Everett, Burgess (July 27, 2022). "Manchin and Schumer announce deal that includes energy, taxes". Politico. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Klein-2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Segers, Grace (March 12, 2021). "Biden signs $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Shalal, Andrea; Holland, Steve (November 16, 2021). "Biden signs $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  10. ^ Cochrane, Emily; Kanno-Youngs, Zolan (June 25, 2022). "Biden Signs Gun Bill Into Law, Ending Years of Stalemate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Shear, Michael D. (June 3, 2023). "Biden Signs Fiscal Responsibility Act in End to Debt Limit Crisis". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  12. ^ McCabe, David; Kang, Cecilia (June 15, 2021). "Biden Names Lina Khan, a Big-Tech Critic, as F.T.C. Chair". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  13. ^ Michael D. Shear and Jim Tankersley (October 7, 2021). "Biden Defends Afghan Pullout and Declares an End to Nation-Building". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021.
  14. ^ Tyler Pager; Natasha Bertran (January 29, 2021). "White House shifts from Middle East quagmires to a showdown with China". Politico. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  15. ^ Josh Lederman (November 3, 2021). "At global summits, Biden seeks to leverage China's absence". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  16. ^ "Biden Signs $1.7 Trillion Funding Bill That Includes Ukraine Aid". Bloomberg.com. December 29, 2022. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  17. ^ Cancian, Mark F. (November 18, 2022). "Aid to Ukraine Explained in Six Charts". www.csis.org. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  18. ^ Montanaro, Domenico (September 2, 2021). "Biden's Approval Rating Hits A New Low After The Afghanistan Withdrawal". NPR. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  19. ^ "Biden under pressure as US inflation hits 8.6%, highest in 40 years". France24. June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  20. ^ "What's Behind Biden's Record-Low Approval Rating?". FiveThirtyEight. July 14, 2022. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  21. ^ Quay, Grayson; Coleman, Theara (July 14, 2022). "The newly-resurfaced debate on Biden's age and mental fitness". The Week. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  22. ^ "The Biggest Success Story the Country Doesn't Know About". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  23. ^ Tankersley, Jim (June 7, 2024). "Biden Has a Historically Strong Job Market. It May Not Be Enough". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 3, 2024.