181-629: Joe Biden 's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. 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
362-505: A Fordham Law Review article with inadequate citations. He was required to repeat the course and passed with high marks. At Biden's request the Delaware Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed the incident and concluded that he had violated no rules. Biden has made several false or exaggerated claims about his early life: that he had earned three degrees in college, that he attended law school on
543-443: A Catholic family of mostly Irish descent, along with English and French; he has a sister, Valerie , and two brothers, Francis and James . The Biden surname traces back to William Biden, an ancestor of his who emigrated from England to Maryland around 1820. Biden's father had been wealthy and the family purchased a home in the affluent Long Island suburb of Garden City in the fall of 1946, but he suffered business setbacks around
724-496: A University of Oklahoma law school professor, had accused Thomas of making unwelcome sexual comments when they had worked together. Biden had known of some of these charges, but initially shared them only with the committee because Hill was then unwilling to testify. The committee hearing was reopened and Hill testified, but Biden did not permit testimony from other witnesses, such as a woman who had made similar charges and experts on harassment. The full Senate confirmed Thomas by
905-497: A lawsuit to break-up Live Nation and Ticketmaster . On January 14, 2021, Biden revealed a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 . The plan includes $ 1 trillion in direct aid, including $ 1,400 per-person checks, for working Americans, and would provide for direct housing and nutrition assistance, expanding access to safe and reliable childcare and affordable healthcare, increasing
1086-446: A party-line vote . Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. ( / ˈ r ɒ b ɪ n ɪ t ˈ b aɪ d ən / 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
1267-487: A public defender and then at a law firm headed by a locally active Democrat, who named him to the Democratic Forum, a group trying to reform and revitalize the state party; Biden subsequently reregistered as a Democrat. He and another attorney also formed a law firm. Corporate law did not appeal to him, and criminal law did not pay well. He supplemented his income by managing properties. Biden ran for
1448-685: A seminar on constitutional law at Widener University School of Law . He sometimes flew back from overseas to teach the class. Secretary of the Senate Francis R. Valeo swore Biden in at the Delaware Division of the Wilmington Medical Center in January 1973. Present were his sons Beau (whose leg was still in traction from the automobile accident) and Hunter and other family members. At age 30, he
1629-560: A special runoff election for a two-year term . President-elect Biden had supported and campaigned for both candidates prior to the runoff elections on January 5. On January 6, a mob of thousands of Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in the hope of overturning Biden's election, forcing Congress to evacuate during the counting of the Electoral College votes . More than 26,000 National Guard members were deployed to
1810-521: A "holiday of significance ... particularly to the blacks of Texas," it became the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday. The bill passed through the Texas Legislature in 1979 and was officially made a state holiday on January 1, 1980. Before 2000, three more U.S. states officially observed the day, and over the next two decades it was recognized as an official observance in all states, except South Dakota , until becoming
1991-521: A "mistake", but did not push for withdrawal. He supported the appropriations for the occupation, but argued that the war should be internationalized, that more soldiers were needed, and that the Bush administration should "level with the American people" about its cost and length. By late 2006, Biden's stance had shifted considerably. He opposed the troop surge of 2007 , saying General David Petraeus
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#17327649584302172-467: 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 ,
2353-399: A 1976 passage by Hubert Humphrey . Biden responded that politicians often borrow from one another without giving credit, and that one of his rivals for the nomination, Jesse Jackson , had called him to point out that he (Jackson) had used the same material by Humphrey that Biden had used. A few days later, an incident was publicized in which, while in law school, Biden had taken text from
2534-814: A 52–48 vote, with Biden opposed. Liberal legal advocates and women's groups felt strongly that Biden had mishandled the hearings and not done enough to support Hill. In 2019, he told Hill he regretted his treatment of her, but Hill said afterward she remained unsatisfied. Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee . He became its ranking minority member in 1997 and chaired it from June 2001 to 2003 and 2007 to 2009. His positions were generally liberal internationalist . He collaborated effectively with Republicans and sometimes went against elements of his own party. During this time he met with at least 150 leaders from 60 countries and international organizations, becoming
2715-422: A Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in history and political science in 1965. Biden had a stutter and has mitigated it since his early twenties. He has described his efforts to reduce it by reciting poetry before a mirror. Biden married Neilia Hunter , a student at Syracuse University , on August 27, 1966, after overcoming her parents' disinclination for her to wed a Catholic. Their wedding
2896-727: A Democratic floor manager for the successful passage of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act in 1984. His supporters praised him for modifying some of the law's worst provisions, and it was his most important legislative accomplishment to that time. In 1994, Biden helped pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act , which included a ban on assault weapons , and the Violence Against Women Act , which he has called his most significant legislation. The 1994 crime law
3077-694: A class of 85 students. He was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1969. Biden clerked at a Wilmington law firm headed by prominent local Republican William Prickett in 1968 and, he later said, "thought of myself as a Republican". He disliked incumbent Democratic Delaware governor Charles L. Terry 's conservative racial politics and supported a more liberal Republican, Russell W. Peterson , who defeated Terry in 1968. Local Republicans attempted to recruit Biden, but he registered as an Independent because of his distaste for Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon . In 1969, Biden practiced law, first as
3258-580: A cold day in hell" before another independent counsel would be granted similar powers. He voted to acquit during the impeachment of President Clinton . During the 2000s, Biden sponsored bankruptcy legislation sought by credit card issuers. Clinton vetoed the bill in 2000, but it passed in 2005 as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act , with Biden being one of only 18 Democrats to vote for it, while leading Democrats and consumer rights organizations opposed it. As
3439-522: A day of remembrance and action and a paid holiday for city employees). North Dakota approved recognition of Juneteenth as a state-recognized annual holiday on April 13, 2021, with Hawaii becoming the 49th state to recognize the holiday on June 16, 2021. On June 16, 2020, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem proclaimed that the following June 19, 2020, was to be Juneteenth Day for that year only, spurning calls for it to be recognized annually, rather than just for 2020. In February 2022, South Dakota became
3620-662: A day of shared commemoration across the United States ;– created, preserved, and spread by ordinary African Americans – of slavery's wartime demise. Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War on September 22, 1862, declaring that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union, all enslaved people in the Confederacy would be freed on
3801-558: A face mask requirement on nearly all forms of public transportation and inside of transportation hubs; previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recommended that such a policy be enacted but it was blocked by the Trump administration, under which the CDC issued strong, albeit non-binding recommendations for mask use in these settings. In mid-March 2021, Biden dismissed
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#17327649584303982-558: A federal holiday, leading walks in many states to promote the idea. In 2016–17 at the age of 89, she led a symbolic walk from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. to advocate for the federal holiday. When it was officially made a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, she was standing beside President Joe Biden as he signed the bill. Juneteenth became one of five date-specific federal holidays along with New Year's Day (January 1), Independence Day (July 4), Veterans Day (November 11), and Christmas Day (December 25). Juneteenth
4163-973: A federal holiday. Since the 1980s and 1990s, the holiday has been more widely celebrated among African-American communities and has seen increasing mainstream attention in the US. In 1991, there was an exhibition by the Anacostia Community Museum (part of the Smithsonian Institution ) called "Juneteenth '91, Freedom Revisited." In 1994, a group of community leaders gathered at Christian Unity Baptist Church in New Orleans to work for greater national celebration of Juneteenth. Expatriates have celebrated it in cities abroad, such as Paris. Some US military bases in other countries sponsor celebrations, in addition to those of private groups. In 1999, Ralph Ellison 's novel Juneteenth
4344-775: A festival and reunion, known as el Día de los Negros on June 19. Many former British colonies celebrate Emancipation Day on August 1, commemorating the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 . Since 2021, the United Nations has designated August 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent. On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln announced that the Emancipation Proclamation would go into effect on January 1, 1863, promising freedom to enslaved people in all of
4525-476: A full scholarship, that he had graduated in the top half of his class, and that he had marched in the civil rights movement . The limited amount of other news about the presidential race amplified these disclosures and on September 23, 1987, Biden withdrew his candidacy, saying it had been overrun by "the exaggerated shadow" of his past mistakes. After exploring the possibility of a run in several previous cycles, in January 2007, Biden declared his candidacy in
4706-500: A law changing its ceremonial holiday to a paid state holiday. Some cities and counties have also recognized Juneteenth through proclamation. In 2020, Juneteenth was formally recognized by New York City (as an annual official city holiday and public school holiday, starting in 2021). Cook County, Illinois , adopted an ordinance to make Juneteenth a paid county holiday. The City and County of Honolulu recognizes it as an "annual day of honor and reflection", and Portland, Oregon (as
4887-563: A month before the pandemic began. In July 2021, amid a slowing of the COVID-19 vaccination rate in the country and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant , Biden said that the U.S. has "a pandemic for those who haven't gotten the vaccination" and that it was therefore "gigantically important" for Americans to be vaccinated, touting the vaccines' effectiveness against hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. He also criticized
5068-496: A national vaccination plan and school reopenings; and $ 10 billion for information technology, modernizing federal cybersecurity infrastructure. In her first press briefing, press secretary Psaki said the plan was likely to change as negotiations continued, with the provision to increase the minimum wage later being excluded from the relief plan. Biden signed the Plan into law on March 11, 2021, passing through both chambers of Congress with
5249-506: A paid holiday, including New York, Washington, and Virginia. In 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a proclamation that the day would be marked as "Juneteenth Independence Day." This followed the filing of bills by both the House and Senate to make Juneteenth a state holiday. Baker did not comment on these bills specifically but promised to grant the observance of Juneteenth greater importance. On June 16, 2021, Illinois adopted
5430-570: A point of not resigning from the Senate before he was sworn in for his seventh term in January 2009. He cast his last Senate vote on January 15, supporting the release of the second $ 350 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program , and resigned from the Senate later that day, after which Ted Kaufman took office as his successor. In October 2010, Biden said Obama had asked him to remain as his running mate for
5611-479: A proposed constitutional amendment banning busing entirely. Biden supported a 1976 measure forbidding the use of federal funds for transporting students beyond the school closest to them. He co-sponsored a 1977 amendment closing loopholes in that measure, which President Carter signed into law in 1978. Biden became ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1981. He was
Presidency of Joe Biden - Misplaced Pages Continue
5792-656: A report by Reuters , in mid-2021 the Biden administration ended a military-run propaganda campaign to spread disinformation about the Sinovac Chinese COVID-19 vaccine which had begun in 2020 during the Trump administration. The campaign was described as "payback" for COVID-19 disinformation by China directed against the U.S. Primarily targeting people in the Philippines , the campaign used fake social media accounts to spread disinformation, including that
5973-482: A request by the European Union to export unused COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca out of the U.S. even though the manufacturer endorsed it and vowed to resupply the doses. The rationale for this decision, which contributed to low European vaccination rates, was that the U.S. had to be "over-supplied and over-prepared", according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki . Whereas the U.S. exported no vaccines,
6154-573: A result, observations of the holiday declined again, though it was still celebrated in Texas. Juneteenth soon saw a revival as Black people began tying their struggle to that of ending slavery. In Atlanta , some campaigners for equality wore Juneteenth buttons. During the 1968 Poor People's Campaign to Washington, DC , called by Rev. Ralph Abernathy , the Southern Christian Leadership Conference made June 19
6335-462: A senator, Biden strongly supported increased Amtrak funding and rail security. In February 1988, after several episodes of increasingly severe neck pain, Biden underwent surgery to correct a leaking intracranial berry aneurysm . While recuperating, he suffered a pulmonary embolism , a serious complication. After a second aneurysm was surgically repaired in May, his recuperation kept him away from
6516-617: A sense of heritage and pride in black youth." Celebrations are commonly accompanied by voter registration efforts , the performing of plays, and retelling stories. The holiday is also a celebration of soul food and other food with African-American influences. In Tourism Review International , Anne Donovan and Karen DeBres write that " Barbecue is the centerpiece of most Juneteenth celebrations." Major news networks host specials and marathons on national outlets featuring prominent Black voices. The Black Seminoles of Nacimiento in Mexico hold
6697-826: 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
6878-638: A successful used-car salesman , maintaining the family in a middle-class lifestyle. At Archmere Academy in Claymont, Biden played baseball and was a standout halfback and wide receiver on the high school football team. Though a poor student, he was class president in his junior and senior years. He graduated in 1961. At the University of Delaware in Newark , Biden briefly played freshman football, and, as an unexceptional student, received
7059-649: A three-year expansion of Affordable Care Act subsidies originally expanded under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and $ 265 billion for prescription drug price reform to lower prices, including providing Medicare the authority to negotiate the prices for certain drugs with pharmaceutical companies. That same month, Biden signed into law the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 , which expands federal health care access, services, and funding for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their service, including toxic smoke from burn pits . Drug overdoses killed 106,699 in
7240-615: 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 ,
7421-449: A time when most draftees were sent to the war. Based on a physical examination, he was given a conditional medical deferment in 1968; in 2008, a spokesperson for Biden said his having had " asthma as a teenager" was the reason for the deferment. Biden defeated Republican incumbent J. Caleb Boggs to become the junior U.S. senator from Delaware in 1972. He was the only Democrat willing to challenge Boggs and, with minimal campaign funds, he
Presidency of Joe Biden - Misplaced Pages Continue
7602-656: A well-known Democratic voice on foreign policy. Biden voted against authorization for the Gulf War in 1991, siding with 45 of the 55 Democratic senators. He said the U.S. was bearing almost all the burden in the anti-Iraq coalition . Biden became interested in the Yugoslav Wars after hearing about Serbian abuses during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991. Once the Bosnian War broke out, Biden
7783-476: Is Biden gonna say something stupid?", he asked. Obama campaign staffers called Biden's blunders "Joe bombs" and kept Biden uninformed about strategy discussions, which in turn irked Biden. Relations between the two campaigns became strained for a month, until Biden apologized on a call to Obama and the two built a stronger partnership. As the 2007–2008 financial crisis reached a peak in September 2008, and
7964-706: Is no evidence that Granger or any of his troops proclaimed the Ordinance by reading it aloud. All indications are that copies of the Ordinance were posted in public places, including the Negro Church on Broadway, since renamed Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church . On June 21, 2014, the Galveston Historical Foundation and Texas Historical Commission erected a Juneteenth plaque where the Osterman Building once stood signifying
8145-495: Is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was declared a holiday in 1986. Juneteenth also falls within the statutory Honor America Days period, which lasts for 21 days from Flag Day (June 14) to Independence Day (July 4). Texas was the first state to recognize the date by enacted law, in 1980. By 2002, eight states officially recognized Juneteenth and four years later 15 states recognized
8326-421: The 2012 presidential election , but with Obama's popularity on the decline, White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley conducted some secret polling and focus group research in late 2011 on the idea of replacing Biden on the ticket with Hillary Clinton. The notion was dropped when the results showed no appreciable improvement for Obama, and White House officials later said Obama himself had never entertained
8507-640: 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
8688-555: The Affordable Care Act , the child tax credit , $ 1400 stimulus checks, and the expansion of SNAP benefits also boosted balance sheets for low and middle-income Americans. New business formation rose 30% from pre-pandemic levels, and was notably strong among women. Biden also signed three major pieces of longer-term economic legislation to repair infrastructure like roads, bridges and water pipes, boost semiconductor investment, and expand green energy. In February 2024,
8869-484: 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
9050-536: The Defense of Marriage Act , which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, thereby barring individuals in such marriages from equal protection under federal law and allowing states to do the same. In 2015, the act was ruled unconstitutional in Obergefell ;v. Hodges . Biden was critical of Independent Counsel Ken Starr during the 1990s Whitewater controversy and Lewinsky scandal investigations, saying "it's going to be
9231-690: The District of Columbia has formally recognized the holiday in some way. Juneteenth is also celebrated by the Mascogos , descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in Coahuila , Mexico . The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the 117th US Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became
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#17327649584309412-833: The Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War . In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved were freed by
9593-475: The Emancipation Proclamation which promised freedom, singing traditional songs such as " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot " and " Lift Every Voice and Sing ", and reading of works by noted African-American writers, such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou . Celebrations include picnics, rodeos , street fairs, cookouts, family reunions , park parties, historical reenactments , blues festivals, and Miss Juneteenth contests. Red food and drinks are traditional during
9774-568: 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
9955-494: The National Football League , Nike , began treating Juneteenth as a company holiday, providing a paid day off to their workers, and Google Calendar added Juneteenth to its U.S. Holidays calendar. Also in 2020, a number of major universities formally recognized Juneteenth, either as a "day of reflection" or as a university holiday with paid time off for faculty and staff. The 2020 mother-daughter film on
10136-560: The Northern United States could not take time off or simply dropped the celebration. The Great Depression forced many Black people off farms and into the cities to find work, where they had difficulty taking the day off to celebrate. From 1936 to 1951, the Texas State Fair served as a destination for celebrating the holiday, contributing to its revival. In 1936, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people joined
10317-644: The Paris Agreement , revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and halting funding for Trump's border wall . 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. The first major legislation signed into law by Biden
10498-676: 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
10679-476: The Reconstruction Treaties of late 1866, when tribes such as the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and others were forced to sign new treaties that required them to free their slaves. The freedom of formerly enslaved people in Texas was given state law status in a series of Texas Supreme Court decisions between 1868 and 1874. Formerly enslaved people in Galveston rejoiced after General Order No. 3. One year later, on June 19, 1866, freedmen in Texas organized
10860-433: The Republican nomination , becoming the party's presumptive nominee in March 2020 after comfortably winning the primaries without facing any significant rivals. At the Republican National Convention in August 2020, he formally accepted the party's nomination with incumbent vice president Mike Pence as his running mate. On November 7, four days after the election, Biden was projected to have won Pennsylvania (a flip from
11041-449: The U.S. Declaration of Independence — that all Americans are equal . Biden pledged that the U.S. would "engage with the world once again", "repair our alliances", and act as a "trusted partner for peace and security". Near the conclusion of his speech, Biden held a moment of silence for those who died in the COVID-19 pandemic. Quoting the Gene Scheer composition "American Anthem", he implored Americans to consider their legacy in answering
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#173276495843011222-399: 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
11403-414: 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
11584-435: The U.S. invasion of Iraq . As chair of the committee, he assembled a series of witnesses to testify in favor of the authorization. They gave testimony grossly misrepresenting the intent, history, and status of Saddam and his secular government, which was an avowed enemy of al-Qaeda , and touted Iraq's fictional possession of weapons of mass destruction . Biden eventually became a critic of the war and called his vote and role
11765-446: 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
11946-425: The World Health Organization (WHO), making Dr. Anthony Fauci the head of the delegation to the WHO. On January 21, the administration released a 200-page document titled "National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness". That same day, Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up the vaccination process and ensure the availability of glass vials, syringes, and other vaccine supplies at
12127-403: The debt ceiling to January 1, 2025. 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. The foreign policy goal of the Biden administration is to restore the US to
12308-577: 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. Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris lost the presidential election to Trump. Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania , to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden ( née Finnegan ; 1917–2010) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. (1915–2002) The oldest child in
12489-500: The oldest president in American history , breaking the record set by Ronald Reagan . Biden entered office amid the COVID-19 pandemic , an economic crisis , and increased political polarization . He withdrew his bid for a second term in the 2024 presidential election due to low popularity and concerns over his age and health . 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
12670-623: The presidency of Barack Obama , as his White House press secretary. Psaki announced, and has held, daily press briefings for White House reporters. On March 25, 2021, Biden held his first solo press conference after 64 days in office, unlike his most recent predecessors (back to Herbert Hoover in 1929), who all held their first solo press conferences within 33 days of taking office. On November 17, 2020, Biden announced that he had selected Mike Donilon as senior advisor and Steve Ricchetti as counselor. Jen O'Malley Dillon , who had served as campaign manager for Biden's successful presidential campaign,
12851-599: The previous presidential election ), thereby receiving enough electoral votes to secure the presidency, becoming the president-elect of the United States . Biden won the presidential election with 306 electoral votes compared to Trump's 232. The Trump campaign launched at least 63 lawsuits against the results , especially in the battleground states of Arizona , Georgia , Michigan , Nevada , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin , raising unevidenced claims of widespread voter fraud that were subsequently dismissed by courts. The electoral votes were certified on January 6–7, 2021. In
13032-680: The "Solidarity Day of the Poor People's Campaign." In the subsequent revival, large celebrations in Minneapolis and Milwaukee emerged, as well as across the Eastern United States. In 1974, Houston began holding large-scale celebrations again, and Fort Worth, Texas , followed the next year. Around 30,000 people attended festivities at Sycamore Park in Fort Worth the following year. The 1978 Milwaukee celebration
13213-614: The "call of history" to protect "democracy, hope, truth, and justice", "secure liberty", and make America a "beacon to the world", insisting that generations of their descendants would judge them on their actions. Biden was inaugurated alongside Kamala Harris , the first woman, first African American , and first Asian American vice president. On November 11, 2020, Biden selected Ron Klain , who served as his vice presidential chief of staff, to serve as his White House chief of staff . Biden chose Jen Psaki , deputy White House press secretary and U.S. Department of State spokesperson during
13394-637: The 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival . Participants in the Great Migration brought these celebrations to the rest of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the nonviolent determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African-American freedom and African-American arts . Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, every U.S. state and
13575-537: The 2000s and 2010s, activists continued a long process to push Congress towards official recognition of Juneteenth. Organizations such as the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation sought a Congressional designation of Juneteenth as a national day of observance. By 2016, 45 states were recognizing the occasion. Activist Opal Lee , often referred to as the "grandmother of Juneteenth", campaigned for decades to make Juneteenth
13756-542: The 2008 elections . During his campaign, Biden focused on the Iraq War , his record as chairman of major Senate committees, and his foreign-policy experience. Biden was noted for his one-liners during the campaign; in one debate he said of Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani , "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11 ." Biden had difficulty raising funds, struggled to draw people to his rallies, and failed to gain traction against
13937-515: The 4th district seat on the New Castle County Council in 1970 on a liberal platform that included support for public housing in the suburbs. The seat had been held by Republican Henry R. Folsom, who was running in the 5th District following a reapportionment of council districts. Biden won the general election, defeating Republican Lawrence T. Messick, and took office on January 5, 1971. He served until January 1, 1973, and
14118-834: The Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware . In 1981, the couple had a daughter, Ashley Biden . She is a social worker and married to physician Howard Krein . Jill helped raise her stepsons, Hunter and Beau, who were seven and eight respectively at the time of her marriage. Hunter has worked as a Washington lobbyist and investment adviser; his business dealings, personal life , and legal troubles have come under significant scrutiny during his father's presidency. Beau became an Army judge-advocate in Iraq and later Delaware attorney general ; he died of brain cancer in 2015. From 1991 to 2008, as an adjunct professor , Biden co-taught
14299-579: The CDC for implementing this change after lobbying by Delta Airlines , leading to social media backlash against the federal government. Biden gave a speech at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on September 12, 2022, the 60th anniversary of Kennedy's We Choose to Go to the Moon speech, promoting his administration's revival of the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot , including
14480-556: The COVID-19 pandemic during the transition, co-chaired by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy , former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler , and Yale University's Marcella Nunez-Smith . On January 5, 2021, the Democratic Party won control of the United States Senate , effective January 20, as a result of electoral victories in Georgia by Jon Ossoff in a runoff election for a six-year term and Raphael Warnock in
14661-437: The COVID-19 pandemic, economic strife , climate change , political polarization , and racial injustice . Biden called for an end to the "uncivil war" of political, demographic, and ideological American cultures through a greater embrace of diversity. He cited the American Civil War , Great Depression , world wars , and September 11 attacks as moments in American history where citizens' "better angels" prevailed, saying that
14842-497: The European Union exported 77 million doses to the world from December 2020 to March 2021. Eventually, the U.S. reversed course and gave vaccine doses from AstraZeneca to Mexico, Canada, and Japan by the end of March. On May 6, 2021, the Biden administration announced that it supports waiving patent protections on existing COVID-19 vaccines so that other countries can produce generic variants, after weeks of pressure from
15023-590: The Negroes of Texas that they were free; and Whereas, since that time, Texas Negroes have observed this day with suitable holiday ceremony, except during such years when the day comes on a Sunday; when the Governor of the State is asked to proclaim the following day as the holiday for State observance by Negroes; and Whereas, June 19, 1938, this year falls on Sunday; NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES V. ALLRED, Governor of
15204-637: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's objections. He received considerable attention when he excoriated Secretary of State George Shultz at a Senate hearing for the Reagan administration's support of South Africa despite its continued policy of apartheid . In a congressional hearing in 1984, he objected to the Strategic Defense Initiative plan to construct autonomous systems of ICBM defense. In
15385-542: The Senate for seven months. Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary . He chaired it from 1987 to 1995 and was a ranking minority member from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 1997. As chair, Biden presided over two highly contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings. When Robert Bork was nominated in 1988, Biden reversed his approval—given in an interview
15566-507: The Senate, but the idea failed to gain traction. Biden formally declared his candidacy for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination on June 9, 1987. He was considered a strong candidate because of his moderate image, his speaking ability, his high profile as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the upcoming Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination hearings, and his appeal to Baby Boomers ; he would have been
15747-510: The Sinovac vaccine contained pork-derived ingredients and was therefore haram under Islamic law . On January 21, 2021, Biden signed ten executive orders pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to meet his vaccination goal of a hundred million shots in his first 100 days in office, Biden signed an executive order increasing needed supplies. Biden signed an order on January 21 that directed FEMA to offer full reimbursements to states for
15928-656: The South for the North and the West Coast. As historian Isabel Wilkerson writes, "The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles, Oakland , Seattle , and other places they went." In 1945, Juneteenth was introduced in San Francisco by a migrant from Texas, Wesley Johnson. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement focused the attention of African Americans on expanding freedom and integrating. As
16109-523: The State of Texas, do set aside and proclaim the day of June 20, 1938, as the date for observance of EMANCIPATION DAY in Texas, and do urge all members of the Negro race in Texas to observe the day in a manner appropriate to its importance to them. Seventy thousand people attended a "Juneteenth Jamboree" in 1951. From 1940 through 1970, in the second wave of the Great Migration , more than five million Black people left Texas, Louisiana and other parts of
16290-579: The Supreme Court of the United States , 45 judges for the United States courts of appeals , 173 judges for the United States district courts and two judges for the United States Court of International Trade . Biden strongly campaigned for the presidency on the public option , a policy that, if enacted into law, would have offered Americans a choice between maintaining their private healthcare insurance or buying into Medicare. The idea
16471-527: 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 . 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
16652-474: The Trans-Mississippi did not formally surrender until June 2. On the morning of June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops recently landed in the department of Texas to enforce the emancipation of its enslaved population and oversee Reconstruction , nullifying all laws passed within Texas during
16833-491: The United States in 2021. Opioids were involved in 80,411 overdose deaths in 2021, up from around 10,000 in 1999. In June 2023, U.S. federal prosecutors announced criminal indictments of fentanyl precursor producers in China. In October 2023, OFAC sanctioned a China-based network of fentanyl manufacturers and distributors. In 2023, the Biden administration announced a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels smuggling fentanyl into
17014-406: The United States. Rahul Gupta led White House efforts to combat the opioid epidemic . On January 20, 2021, his first day as president, Biden implemented a federal mask mandate , requiring the use of masks and social distancing in all federal buildings, on federal lands, and by federal employees and contractors. Biden also signed an executive order that reversed the withdrawal of the U.S. from
17195-629: The actions of Hamas as terrorism, announced military support for Israel and sent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip . His administration brokered a ceasefire agreement in the Israel–Hezbollah conflict . 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
17376-423: The biblical Jubilee , in which enslaved people were freed), took place on September 22, January 1, July 4, August 1, April 6, and November 1, among other dates. When emancipation finally came to Texas , on June 19, 1865, as the southern rebellion collapsed, celebration was widespread. While that date did not actually mark the unequivocal end of slavery, even in Texas, June 19 came to be
17557-503: The cabinet in 2023. While administering the oath of office to hundreds of White House officials through video conferencing , Biden called for more civility in politics, saying: "If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot. ... No ifs, ands, or buts." As of November 21, 2024, the United States Senate has confirmed 221 Article III judges nominated by Biden: one associate justice of
17738-412: The capital for the inauguration, with thousands remaining into the spring. On January 20, 2021, Biden was sworn in by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts as the 46th president of the United States , completing the oath of office at 11:49 am EST, eleven minutes before the legal start of his term. Biden's inaugural speech laid out his vision to unite the nation, prefaced by the various impacts of
17919-457: The celebrations, including red velvet cake and strawberry soda , with red meant to represent resilience and joy. Juneteenth celebrations often include lectures and exhibitions on African-American culture. The modern holiday places much emphasis on teaching about African-American heritage. Karen M. Thomas wrote in Emerge that "community leaders have latched on to [Juneteenth] to help instill
18100-578: The concurrent congressional elections , Democrats retained a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and narrowly took control of the Senate , leaving the partisan balance in the Senate at fifty Democrats and fifty Republicans, with vice president Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote giving Democrats control of the chamber. Though Biden was generally acknowledged as the winner, General Services Administration head Emily W. Murphy initially refused to begin
18281-488: The connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere. Longstanding urban legend places a historic reading of General Order No. 3 at Ashton Villa ; but no historical evidence supports this claim. There
18462-415: The cost of using their own National Guard personnel and emergency supplies such as Personal Protective Equipment in schools. On January 24, 2021, Biden reinstated a travel ban imposed by President Trump on Brazil , United Kingdom , Ireland , South Africa , and 26 other European countries. The travel ban prevents non-U.S. citizens living in the prospective countries from entering the U.S. Biden implemented
18643-491: The day through Senate Joint Resolution 11 and House Joint Resolution 56. In 2013, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 175, acknowledging Lula Briggs Galloway (late president of the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage), who "successfully worked to bring national recognition to Juneteenth Independence Day", and the continued leadership of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. In
18824-428: The debate overall. On November 4, Obama and Biden were elected with 53% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes to McCain and Palin's 173. At the same time Biden was running for vice president, he was also running for reelection to the Senate, as permitted by Delaware law. On November 4, he was reelected to the Senate, defeating Republican Christine O'Donnell . Having won both races, Biden made
19005-505: The election, Biden trailed Boggs by almost thirty percentage points, but his energy, attractive young family, and ability to connect with voters' emotions worked to his advantage, and he won with 50.5% of the vote. A few weeks after Biden was elected senator, his wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware , on December 18, 1972. Neilia's station wagon
19186-533: The federal level. In justifying his use of the act, Biden said: "And when I say wartime, people kind of look at me like 'wartime?' Well, as I said last night, 400,000 Americans have died. That's more than have died in all of World War II. 400,000. This is a wartime undertaking." Biden established the White House COVID-19 Response Team , a White House Office dedicated to coordinating a unified federal government response. According to
19367-491: The first day of the year. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all enslaved people in the Confederate States of America in rebellion and not in Union hands were freed. Planters and other slaveholders from eastern states had migrated into Texas to escape the fighting, and many brought enslaved people with them, increasing by the thousands the enslaved population in
19548-669: The first major federal gun control law in nearly three decades; 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
19729-814: The first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983. The holiday is considered the "longest-running African-American holiday" and has been called "America's second Independence Day." Juneteenth falls on June 19 and has often been celebrated on the third Saturday in June. Historian Mitch Kachun considers that celebrations of the end of slavery have three goals: "to celebrate, to educate, and to agitate." Early celebrations consisted of baseball , fishing, and rodeos. African Americans were often prohibited from using public facilities for their celebrations, so they were often held at churches or near water. Celebrations were characterized by elaborate large meals and people wearing their best clothing. It
19910-481: The first of what became annual commemorations of "Jubilee Day." Early celebrations were used as political rallies to give voting instructions to newly freed African Americans. Other independence observances occurred on January 1 or 4. In some cities, Black people were barred from using public parks because of state-sponsored segregation of facilities. Across parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land to hold their celebrations. The day
20091-400: The formulation on previous occasions, but did not on two occasions in late August. Kinnock himself was more forgiving; the two men met in 1988, forming an enduring friendship. Earlier that year, Biden had also used passages from a 1967 speech by Robert F. Kennedy (for which his aides took blame) and a short phrase from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address ; two years earlier he had used
20272-528: The high-profile candidacies of Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton . He never rose above single digits in national polls of the Democratic candidates . In the first contest on January 3, 2008, Biden placed fifth in the Iowa caucuses , garnering slightly less than one percent of the state delegates. He withdrew from the race that evening. Despite its lack of success, Biden's 2008 campaign raised his stature in
20453-537: The holiday's celebration in Dallas. In 1938, Governor of Texas James Allred issued a proclamation stating in part: Whereas, the Negroes in the State of Texas observe June 19 as the official day for the celebration of Emancipation from slavery; and Whereas, June 19, 1865, was the date when General [Gordon] Granger, who had command of the Military District of Texas, issued a proclamation notifying
20634-475: The holiday's pageant culture, Miss Juneteenth , celebrates African-American women who are "determined to stand on their own," while a resourceful mother is "getting past a sexist tendency in her community to keep women in their place." In 1996, the first federal legislation to recognize "Juneteenth Independence Day" was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.J. Res. 195, sponsored by Barbara-Rose Collins (D-MI). In 1997, Congress recognized
20815-513: The holiday. President Donald Trump , during his 2020 campaign for reelection, added making the day a national holiday part of his " Platinum Plan for Black America ." Spurred on by Opal Lee , the racial justice movement and the Congressional Black Caucus , on June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act , establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. It passed through
20996-535: The holiday. By 2008, just over half of the states recognized Juneteenth in some way. By 2019, 47 states and the District of Columbia recognized Juneteenth, although as of 2020 only Texas had adopted the holiday as a paid holiday for state employees. In June 2019, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf recognized Juneteenth as a holiday in the state. In the yearlong aftermath of the murder of George Floyd that occurred on May 25, 2020, nine states designated Juneteenth
21177-471: The home. The Emancipation Proclamation is also read and speeches are made. Representative Al Edwards died of natural causes April 29, 2020, at the age of 83, but the annual prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration continued at Ashton Villa, with the late legislator's son Jason Edwards speaking in his father's place. In the late 1970s, when the Texas Legislature declared Juneteenth
21358-417: The idea. Juneteenth Juneteenth , officially Juneteenth National Independence Day , is a federal holiday in the United States . It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of
21539-417: The inaugural Al Edwards prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration on the grounds of the 1859 home, Ashton Villa. As one of the few existing buildings from the Civil War era and popular in local myth and legend as the location of Major General Granger's order, Edwards's annual celebration includes a local historian dressed as the Union general reading General Order No. 3 from the second-story balcony of
21720-468: The international community. On 7 May, French president Emmanuel Macron called on the U.S. "to put an end to export bans not only on vaccines but on vaccine ingredients, which prevent production." On May 26, 2021, Biden ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to increase their investigations into the origin of the virus , after reports that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology became ill
21901-516: The last state to recognize Juneteenth as an annual state holiday or observance. Its law provided for following the federal law even before it was official. On May 2, 2022, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill changing the state's ceremonial observance to a state holiday and it is now the 11th state holiday in Colorado. As of 2024, 27 states and the District of Columbia have made Juneteenth an annualized paid holiday for state employees, with
22082-475: The latter of which featured musical numbers about the holiday by Aloe Blacc , The Roots , and Fonzworth Bentley . In 2018, Apple added Juneteenth to its calendars in iOS under official U.S. holidays. Some private companies have adopted Juneteenth as a paid day off for employees, while others have officially marked the day in other ways, such as a moment of silence . In 2020, several American corporations and educational institutions, including Twitter ,
22263-523: 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. However, during the withdrawal, the Afghan government collapsed and
22444-487: The location of Major General Granger's Union Headquarters believed to be where he issued his general orders. Although this event commemorates the end of slavery, emancipation for the remaining enslaved in two Union border states , Delaware and Kentucky, would not come until December 6, 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified; furthermore, thousands of black slaves were not freed until after
22625-557: The mid-1970s, Biden was one of the Senate's strongest opponents of race-integration busing . His Delaware constituents strongly opposed it, and such opposition nationwide later led his party to mostly abandon school integration policies. In his first Senate campaign, Biden had expressed support for busing to remedy de jure segregation , as in the South, but opposed its use to remedy de facto segregation arising from racial patterns of neighborhood residency, as in Delaware; he opposed
22806-616: The mid-1990s his "proudest moment in public life" related to foreign policy. In 1999, during the Kosovo War , Biden supported the 1999 NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia . He and Senator John McCain co-sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions toward ethnic Albanians in Kosovo . Biden
22987-415: The midst of an all-time high of new COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control revised their guidelines, recommending five days of quarantine rather than ten without requiring a negative COVID-19 test. This move was criticized by health experts who worry that without rapid testing , COVID-positive people may unknowingly spread COVID-19 in workplaces under the recommended CDC guidelines. Others criticize
23168-479: The minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance, and giving families with kids and childless workers an emergency boost this year. It would also expand the eligibility of these checks to adult dependents who have been left out of previous rounds of relief. The plan additionally includes $ 440 billion in community support, providing $ 350 billion of community support to first responders while the rest goes to grants for small businesses and transit agencies; $ 400 billion for
23349-494: The new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health . The New Republic praised Biden's economic record in July 2024, highlighting record low unemployment leading to a growth in wages at the lower end of the wage distribution as workers had more bargaining power. While inflation was painful, it has returned near its pre-pandemic rate and was similar to peer countries, though the U.S. has grown faster than its peers. The expansion of
23530-407: The nomination by winning a majority of the delegates to become the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party following the party's presidential primaries. Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate , and they were officially nominated as the Democratic ticket at the 2020 Democratic National Convention . Incumbent president Donald Trump ran for re-election for
23711-439: The political process. White-dominated state legislatures passed Jim Crow laws imposing second-class status. Gladys L. Knight writes the decline in celebration was in part because "upwardly mobile blacks ... were ashamed of their slave past and aspired to assimilate into mainstream culture. Younger generations of blacks, becoming further removed from slavery were occupied with school ... and other pursuits." Others who migrated to
23892-473: The political world. In particular, it changed the relationship between Biden and Obama. Although they had served together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , they had not been close: Biden resented Obama's quick rise to political stardom, while Obama viewed Biden as garrulous and patronizing. Having gotten to know each other during 2007, Obama appreciated Biden's campaign style and appeal to working-class voters, and Biden said he became convinced Obama
24073-458: The press devoted far more coverage to the Republican nominee, Alaska governor Sarah Palin . Under instructions from the campaign, Biden kept his speeches succinct and tried to avoid offhand remarks, such as one he made about Obama's being tested by a foreign power soon after taking office, which had attracted negative attention. Privately, Biden's remarks frustrated Obama. "How many times
24254-625: The prevalence of COVID-19 misinformation on social media, saying it was "killing people". Despite months of vaccine availability and incentives, by September many Americans continued to resist vaccination amid rising cases in several states, hampering prospects towards herd immunity . On September 9, Biden stated, "We've been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us." That day he issued an executive order directing businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccination of their workers or weekly testing, affecting about 80 million Americans. The order also required
24435-468: The previous year—of a hypothetical Bork nomination. Conservatives were angered, but at the hearings' close Biden was praised for his fairness, humor, and courage. Rejecting the arguments of some Bork opponents, Biden framed his objections to Bork in terms of the conflict between Bork's strong originalism and the view that the U.S. Constitution provides rights to liberty and privacy beyond those explicitly enumerated in its text. Bork's nomination
24616-477: The proposed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 became a major factor in the campaign, Biden voted for the $ 700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 , which passed in the Senate, 74–25. On October 2, he participated in the vice-presidential debate with Palin at Washington University in St. Louis . Post-debate polls found that while Palin exceeded many voters' expectations, Biden had won
24797-617: The rebellious parts of Southern states of the Confederacy including Texas. Enforcement of the Proclamation generally relied upon the advance of Union troops. Texas, as the most remote state of the former Confederacy, had seen an expansion of slavery because the presence of Union troops was low as the American Civil War ended; thus, the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation had been slow and inconsistent there prior to Granger's order. In all June 19, 1865,
24978-599: The remainder maintaining at least a ceremonial observance (New Mexico's personnel board declared it a paid worker holiday, although it is not a statutory holiday in New Mexico). Additional states may observe it as a paid holiday for state workers but rely on a decision, often of the governor, in each year, instead of perpetual by statute, which may or may not occur again the next year. Local governments including counties and municipalities also may close their offices and pay their workers time-off. The table below only includes
25159-530: The roughly 17 million employees of health facilities receiving federal Medicare or Medicaid to be vaccinated. Many Republicans asserted Biden's order was an unconstitutional overreach of federal authority, and some Republican governors said they would sue to block it. The Biden administration responded to the global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in December 2021 by advocating response by
25340-467: The second-youngest person elected president, after John F. Kennedy . He raised more in the first quarter of 1987 than any other candidate. By August his campaign's messaging had become confused due to staff rivalries, and in September, he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock . Biden's speech had similar lines about being the first person in his family to attend university. Biden had credited Kinnock with
25521-461: The state at the end of the Civil War. Although most lived in rural areas, more than 1,000 resided in Galveston or Houston by 1860, with several hundred in other large towns. By 1865, there were an estimated 250,000 enslaved people in Texas. Despite the surrender of Confederate General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, the western Confederate Army of
25702-524: The state's with perpetual, annual, paid holiday laws identified by the Congressional Research Service in 2023 or subsequent sources: Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States. For decades, activists and congress members (led by many African Americans) proposed legislation, advocated for, and built support for state and national observances. During his campaign for president in June 2020, Joe Biden publicly celebrated
25883-594: The states instead of the federal government. Throughout the surge, the Biden administration has been criticized for a lack of COVID-19 tests , exacerbating the spread of the Omicron variant. When questioned about the apparent shortage of tests, Jen Psaki replied, "Should we just send one to every American? Then what happens if every American has one test? How much does that cost and what happens after that?", causing backlash. The Biden administration responded by promising an increased supply of at-home tests later in 2022. In
26064-439: The status quo. The Biden administration rescinded work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The administration opened a special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act as well as extending the normal enrollment period, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration provided larger premium subsidies. In August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 . The law allocates $ 64 billion for
26245-484: The strategy behind the choice reflected a desire to fill out the ticket with someone with foreign policy and national security experience. Others pointed out Biden's appeal to middle-class and blue-collar voters. Biden was officially nominated for vice president on August 27 by voice vote at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver . Biden's vice-presidential campaigning gained little media attention, as
26426-478: The strongest economic recoveries in United States history, breaking a 70-year record for low unemployment, and the creation of over 16 million new jobs, the most of any single term president. Joe Biden officially announced his candidacy for the nomination of the Democratic Party in the 2020 presidential election on April 25, 2019, having previously sought the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 2008 , being unsuccessful both times. In June 2020, Biden clinched
26607-617: The then current mayor of Boston, as his Secretary of Labor . Biden altered his cabinet structure, elevating the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers , director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy , and ambassador to the United Nations as cabinet-level positions. Biden removed the director of the Central Intelligence Agency from his official cabinet at the onset of his presidency, but he restored it to
26788-519: The time Biden was seven years old, and for several years the family lived with Biden's maternal grandparents in Scranton. Scranton fell into economic decline during the 1950s and Biden's father could not find steady work. Beginning in 1953 when Biden was ten, the family lived in an apartment in Claymont, Delaware , before moving to a house in nearby Mayfield, Delaware . Biden Sr. later became
26969-420: The total federal government debt grew to $ 34.4 trillion after having grown by approximately $ 1 trillion in both of two separate 100-day periods since the previous June. The Build Back Better Plan was a proposed framework of public investment in social, infrastructural, and environmental programs. It was eventually divided into three parts. The American Rescue Plan was focused on COVID-19 pandemic relief, and
27150-419: The transition to the president-elect, thereby denying funds and office space to his team. On November 23, after Michigan certified its results, Murphy issued the letter of ascertainment, granting the Biden transition team access to federal funds and resources for an orderly transition. Two days after becoming the projected winner of the 2020 election, Biden announced the formation of a task force to advise him on
27331-407: The unity, the solution, must again be invoked to rise from the "cascading" crises of the present; this unity, he proclaimed, exists in the "common objects" that define America: "opportunity, liberty, dignity, respect, honor, and ... truth." He explicitly decried white supremacy and nativism , calling them an "ugly reality" of American life he vows to defeat that clouds the "American ideal" set out in
27512-508: The victorious Union Army , or abolition laws in some of the remaining U.S. states . When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed. Early celebrations date back to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South among newly freed African American slaves and their descendants and became more commercialized in
27693-487: The war by Confederate lawmakers. The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all enslaved people were free: The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and
27874-542: The whole nation. The burst around the star represents a nova and the red curve represents a horizon , standing for a new era for African Americans. The red, white, and blue colors represent the American flag, which shows that African Americans and their enslaved ancestors are Americans, and the national belief in liberty and justice for all citizens. The holiday gained mainstream awareness outside African-American communities through depictions in media, such as episodes of TV series Atlanta (2016) and Black-ish (2017),
28055-441: The withdrawal from Afghanistan, and remained low as the country experienced high inflation and rising gas prices, even as they would eventually reduce over his presidency. 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. Despite this, Biden oversaw the strongest economic recovery of any G7 nation post COVID-19 and one of
28236-759: The word Juneteenth for Jubilee Day early in the 1890s. The word Juneteenth appeared in print in the Brenham Weekly Banner , a white newspaper from Brenham, Texas , as early as 1891. Mentions of Juneteenth celebrations outside of Texas appeared as early as 1909 in Shreveport, Louisiana . In the early 20th century, economic and political forces led to a decline in Juneteenth celebrations. From 1890 to 1908, Texas and all former Confederate states passed new constitutions or amendments that effectively disenfranchised Black people , excluding them from
28417-413: Was "dead, flat wrong" in believing the surge could work. Biden instead advocated dividing Iraq into a loose federation of three ethnic states. Rather than continue the existing approach or withdrawing, the plan called for "a third way": federalizing Iraq and giving Kurds , Shiites , and Sunnis "breathing room" in their own regions. In September 2007, a non-binding resolution endorsing the plan passed
28598-419: Was "the real deal". Shortly after Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Obama privately told him he was interested in finding an important place for Biden in his administration. In early August, Obama and Biden met in secret to discuss the possibility, and developed a strong personal rapport. On August 22, 2008, Obama announced that Biden would be his running mate . The New York Times reported that
28779-651: Was 900 days after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, 71 days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union on April 9, 1865, and 24 days after the disbanding of the Confederate military department covering Texas on May 26, 1865. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), emancipation came at different times in different parts of the Southern United States . Large celebrations of emancipation, often called Jubilees (recalling
28960-519: Was a strong supporter of the War in Afghanistan , saying, "Whatever it takes, we should do it." As head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said in 2002 that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was a threat to national security and there was no other option than to "eliminate" that threat. In October 2002, he voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq , approving
29141-465: Was among the first to call for the " lift and strike " policy. The George H. W. Bush administration and Clinton administration were both reluctant to implement the policy, fearing Balkan entanglement. In April 1993, Biden held a tense three-hour meeting with Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević . Biden worked on several versions of legislative language urging the U.S. toward greater involvement. Biden has called his role in affecting Balkan policy in
29322-443: Was common for formerly enslaved people and their descendants to make a pilgrimage to Galveston. As early festivals received news coverage, Janice Hume and Noah Arceneaux consider that they "served to assimilate African-American memories within the dominant 'American story ' ". Modern observance is primarily in local celebrations. In many places, Juneteenth has become a multicultural holiday. Traditions include public readings of
29503-479: Was described as drawing over 100,000 attendees. In 1979, the Texas Legislature made the occasion a state holiday. In the late 1980s, there were major celebrations of Juneteenth in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. In 1979, Democratic State Representative Al Edwards of Houston successfully sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a paid Texas state holiday. The same year, he hosted
29684-675: Was filled with anger and religious doubt. He wrote that he "felt God had played a horrible trick" on him and had trouble focusing on work. Biden met teacher Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1975 on a blind date . They married at the United Nations chapel in New York on June 17, 1977, and spent their honeymoon at Lake Balaton in the Hungarian People's Republic . Biden credits her with the renewal of his interest in politics and life. The couple attends Mass at St. Joseph's on
29865-681: Was first celebrated in Austin in 1867 under the auspices of the Freedmen's Bureau , and it had been listed on a "calendar of public events" by 1872. That year, Black leaders in Texas raised $ 1,000 for the purchase of 10 acres (4 ha) of land, today known as Houston's Emancipation Park , to celebrate Juneteenth. The observation was soon drawing thousands of attendees across Texas. In Limestone County , an estimated 30,000 Black people celebrated at Booker T. Washington Park, established in 1898 for Juneteenth celebrations. The Black community began using
30046-501: Was first elected in 1970, until Roth was defeated in 2000. As of 2024 , he was the 19th-longest-serving senator in U.S. history. During his early years in the Senate, Biden focused on consumer protection and environmental issues and called for greater government accountability. In a 1974 interview, he described himself as liberal on civil rights and liberties, senior citizens' concerns and healthcare, but conservative on other issues, including abortion and military conscription . Biden
30227-473: Was held in a Catholic church in Skaneateles, New York . They had three children: Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III , Robert Hunter Biden , and Naomi Christina "Amy" Biden. Biden earned a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law in 1968. In his first year of law school, he failed a course because he plagiarized a law review article for a paper he wrote, but the failing grade was later stricken. His grades were relatively poor, and he graduated 76th in
30408-446: Was hit by a semi-trailer truck as she pulled out from an intersection. Their sons Beau (aged 3) and Hunter (aged 2) were in the car and were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Beau with a broken leg and other wounds and Hunter with a minor skull fracture and other head injuries. Biden considered resigning to care for them, but Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield persuaded him not to. Biden contemplated suicide and
30589-438: Was merged with elements of the American Jobs Plan to form the Build Back Better Act , introduced in September 2021. This passed the House of Representatives , but failed to pass the Senate . Continued negations led to the a new proposal, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which included proposals addressing climate change, healthcare, and tax reform proposals while excluding Build Back Better's social safety net proposals. This
30770-481: Was named as deputy chief of staff. Biden selected Antony Blinken to be secretary of state, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the United Nations, and Jake Sullivan as national security advisor. On November 23, 2020, Biden announced Alejandro Mayorkas to be his choice for Secretary of Homeland Security and Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence . Throughout December and January, Biden continued to select cabinet members, including Marty Walsh ,
30951-453: Was passed and signed into law in August 2022. The administration also pursued lower drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays and capping the price of insulin . In 2024, Biden pushed to limit junk fees through the FTC, FCC and CFPB . Biden took antitrust more seriously than presidents in recent memory, as seen by the work of Lina Khan at the FTC , a historic court victory against Google's search monopoly , and
31132-491: Was passed and signed into law in March 2021 as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 . The second part called for investment in infrastructure and addressing climate change , and was called the American Jobs Plan. Elements of the American Jobs Plan were the basis for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act , signed into law in November 2021. The third part, the American Families Plan, proposed investment in social policies, such as paid parental leave . The American Families Plan
31313-425: Was published, increasing recognition of the holiday. By 2006, at least 200 cities celebrated the day. In 1997, activist Ben Haith created the Juneteenth flag , which was further refined by illustrator Lisa Jeanne Graf. In 2000, the flag was first hoisted at the Roxbury Heritage State Park in Boston by Haith. The star at the center represents Texas and the extension of freedom for all African Americans throughout
31494-409: Was rejected in the committee by a 5–9 vote and then in the full Senate, 42–58. During Clarence Thomas's nomination hearings in 1991, Biden's questions on constitutional issues were often convoluted to the point that Thomas sometimes lost track of them, and Thomas later wrote that Biden's questions were akin to " beanballs ". After the committee hearing closed, the public learned that Anita Hill ,
31675-434: Was succeeded by Democrat Francis R. Swift. During his time on the county council, Biden opposed large highway projects, which he argued might disrupt Wilmington neighborhoods. Biden had not openly supported or opposed the Vietnam War until he ran for Senate and opposed Richard Nixon's conduct of the war. While studying at the University of Delaware and Syracuse University, Biden obtained five student draft deferments at
31856-492: 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. 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. Biden proposed
32037-421: Was the seventh-youngest senator in U.S. history . To see his sons, Biden traveled by train between his Delaware home and D.C. —74 minutes each way—and maintained this habit throughout his 36 years in the Senate. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 , Biden was reelected in 1978 , 1984 , 1990 , 1996 , 2002 , and 2008 , regularly receiving about 60% of the vote. He was junior senator to William Roth , who
32218-536: Was the first U.S. senator to endorse Jimmy Carter for president in the 1976 Democratic primary . Carter went on to win the Democratic nomination and defeat incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election . Biden also worked on arms control . After Congress failed to ratify the SALT II Treaty signed in 1979 by Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev and President Jimmy Carter, Biden met with Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko to communicate American concerns and secured changes that addressed
32399-510: Was thought to have no chance of winning. Family members managed and staffed the campaign, which relied on meeting voters face-to-face and hand-distributing position papers, an approach made feasible by Delaware's small size. He received help from the AFL-CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell . His platform focused on the environment, withdrawal from Vietnam, civil rights, mass transit, equitable taxation, health care and public dissatisfaction with "politics as usual". A few months before
32580-428: Was unpopular among progressives and criticized for resulting in mass incarceration; in 2019, Biden called his role in passing the bill a "big mistake", citing its policy on crack cocaine and saying that the bill "trapped an entire generation". Biden voted for a 1993 provision that deemed homosexuality incompatible with military life, thereby banning gay people from serving in the armed forces. In 1996, he voted for
32761-410: Was viewed as a compromise between the progressive and moderate flanks of the Democratic Party . The Biden campaign described the public option as a "plan to protect and build on ObamaCare ". However, shortly before taking office in January 2021, Biden's team abruptly dropped the proposal, frustrating many online progressives who already viewed the public option healthcare proposal as a failure to fight
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