Joe Biden

Joe Biden
Official portrait, 2021
46th President of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office January 20, 2021
Vice President	Kamala Harris
Preceded by	Donald Trump
47th Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Dick Cheney
Succeeded by	Mike Pence
United States Senator from Delaware
In office January 3, 1973 – January 15, 2009
Preceded by	J. Caleb Boggs
Succeeded by	Ted Kaufman
Personal details
Born	Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (1942-11-20) November 20, 1942 (age 82) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (since 1969)
Other political affiliations	Independent (1968–1969)
Spouses	Neilia Hunter ​ ​ (m. 1966; died 1972)​ Jill Jacobs ​ (m. 1977)​
Children	Beau Hunter Naomi Ashley
Relatives	Biden family
Residence	White House
Education	University of Delaware (BA) Syracuse University (JD)
Occupation	Politician lawyer author
Awards	Full list
Signature
Website	White House website
Joe Biden's voice Biden speaks on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul. Recorded August 16, 2021
Other offices 2007–2009: Chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus 2001[a]–2003, 2007–2009: Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1987–1995: Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee 1971–1973: Member of the New Castle County Council from the 4th district

This article is part of a series about Joe Biden
Personal Early life and career Eponyms Family Honors Public image Age and health concerns SNL parodies Bibliography U.S. Senator from Delaware U.S. Senate career Judiciary Committee Bork hearings Thomas hearings 1994 Crime Bill Violence Against Women Act Foreign Relations Committee Elections 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 47th Vice President of the United States Transition Obama administration first inauguration second inauguration Economic policy Great Recession response 2010 Tax Relief Act 2011 debt-ceiling crisis fiscal cliff Foreign policy Task forces Gun Violence Protect Students from Sexual Assault Vice presidential campaigns 2008 election selection convention debates 2012 election convention debates 46th President of the United States Incumbent Presidency timeline Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board Inauguration Efforts to impeach inquiry Tenure Executive actions proclamations Trips foreign '21 '22 '23 '24–'25 Geneva summit COVID-19 pandemic Afghanistan withdrawal Classified documents incident 2023 debt-ceiling crisis Policies COVID-19 WH Response Team Economy ARP IIJA IRA Electoral/ethics Environment Foreign policy AUKUS Camp David Principles IPEF War in Ukraine War in Israel Immigration border crisis Social issues guns cannabis marriage Appointments Cabinet Ambassadors Federal judges Jackson Supreme Court candidates Executive Office U.S. attorneys Presidential campaigns 1988 primaries 2008 primaries 2020 primaries election sexual assault allegation Ukraine conspiracy theory convention debates endorsements VP selection 2024 primaries debate endorsements opposition withdrawal
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Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (/ˈrɒbɪnɪt ˈbaɪdən/ ^ⓘ ROB-in-it BY-dən; born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who has been the 46th and current president of the United States since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009.

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden moved with his family to Delaware in 1953. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware in 1965 and a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University in 1968. He was elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970 and the U.S. Senate in 1972. As a senator, Biden drafted and led the effort to pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act. He also oversaw six U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, including the contentious hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. Biden ran unsuccessfully for the 1988 and 2008 Democratic presidential nominations. In 2008, Obama chose Biden as his running mate, and he was a close counselor to Obama during his two terms as vice president. In the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Party nominated Biden for president. He selected Kamala Harris as his running mate, and they defeated Republican incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence. He became the oldest president in U.S. history and the first to serve with a female vice president.

As president, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession. He signed bipartisan bills on infrastructure and manufacturing. He proposed the Build Back Better Act, which failed in Congress, but aspects of which were incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act that he signed into law in 2022. Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. He worked with congressional Republicans to resolve the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis by negotiating a deal to raise the debt ceiling. In his foreign policy, Biden restored America's membership in the Paris Agreement. He oversaw the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that ended the war in Afghanistan, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban seizing control. He responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorizing civilian and military aid to Ukraine. During the Israel–Hamas war, Biden condemned the actions of Hamas as terrorism, announced military support for Israel and sent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

In April 2023, Biden announced his reelection campaign and, after the Democratic primaries, became the party's presumptive nominee in the 2024 presidential election. Concerns about Biden's age and health persisted throughout his first term, with renewed scrutiny after his performance during the first presidential debate on June 27. On July 21, he withdrew his candidacy, becoming the first U.S. president to decline to seek reelection after securing enough delegates to win renomination. He endorsed Vice President Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris lost the general election to Trump.
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