What Biden can do as a lame duck president
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
With mere months until President-elect Trump's inauguration, Biden administration officials are in a race against time to safeguard their goals and achievements.
Why it matters: For President Biden — who sought to secure a legacy as the most progressive president since FDR — Trump's second term in the White House threatens to undermine many of his signature achievements.
State of play: With about two months until Trump's inauguration, key Democrats are calling on their party to make use of every last second of the Biden administration.
Here are the actions the Biden administration can take before then:
U.S. aid for Ukraine
The incoming Trump administration is all but sure to reduce U.S. support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
- Trump has routinely been critical of the Biden administration's aid to the country, which has also split Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
- He has not only openly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past but also refused to say that he wanted to see Ukraine — America's ally — win the war against Russia.
State of play: The U.S. on Sunday authorized Ukraine for the first time to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
- Earlier this month, the Biden administration decided to allow U.S. military contractors to deploy to Ukraine for the first time, a policy reversal meant to help Ukraine repair U.S.-provided air defenses and fighter jets, Reuters reported.
In the days after the election, the White House pledged to continue "surging" aid to Ukraine.
- According to the Pentagon, this includes spending all of the remaining funds that have been authorized to aid Ukraine — roughly about $7.1 billion worth of military equipment and weapons.
- There's an additional $2 billion of available funding for long-term equipment contracts for Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Infrastructure projects
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday announced more than $3.4 billion in grants for infrastructure projects across the country.
- This slate of projects are already funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in 2021. The Transportation Department noted Friday that to date, nearly $570 billion of funding from the law has been allocated to tens of thousands of infrastructure projects across the country.
- They include grants to fund projects aimed at improving rail service, improve U.S. ports and fixing the country's urban and rural roads.
What they're saying: Buttigieg said at a press conference after the election that it's now "our responsibility is to make good use of the funds that Congress has authorized for us," AP reported.
Confirming Biden's federal judge nominees
Trump made conservative judicial appointments a priority during his first term and pursued an aggressive pace of confirmations that helped reshape the federal judiciary — as well as the Supreme Court.
- Senate Democrats, who will lose control of the chamber come January, are racing to confirm as many of Biden's judicial nominees as possible before Trump gets the chance to fill those vacancies. But they're already pacing well behind the first Trump administration.
Zoom in: Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said last week that the Senate "must confirm every one" of the nominees before the congressional term ends.
- This includes 16 nominees pending on the Senate floor and "several more" pending in committee, he said.
- However, there are currently 45 judicial vacancies in federal courts, according to U.S. Courts.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to "use every minute of the end-of-year legislative session to confirm federal judges and key regulators — none of whom can be removed by the next President."
By the numbers: The Senate has confirmed 214 of Biden's judicial nominees, Durban noted — less than the 234 confirmed during Trump's first term.
Energy and climate projects
The Biden administration is allocating billions of dollars on clean energy and infrastructure projects that support its clean energy agenda.
- Trump has vowed to revoke "unspent funds" approved as part of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping climate and economic package that passed in 2022, Politico reported.
- Outgoing Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm told AP last month the department is sprinting to sign contracts to distribute funds for projects.
Zoom in: A spate of projects have already been announced.
- The administration has approved major offshore wind projects in Maryland and New Jersey in recent months.
- The Energy Department in September awarded more than $3 billion across 25 projects to support domestic EV battery manufacturing.
Go deeper:
