Joe Biden

From Wikimerica, the United States encyclopedia

**Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.** (November 20, 1942 - February 18, 2032) was an American politician who was the 54th President of the United States from 2021 until his resignation in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 55th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, and represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009.

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden moved with his family to Delaware in 1953. He studied at the University of Delaware before earning his law degree from Syracuse University. He was elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970 and became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history after he was elected to the United States Senate from Delaware in 1972, at age 29. Biden was the chair or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years. He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995; led the effort to pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act; and oversaw six U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, including the contentious hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.

Biden ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008, before becoming Obama's vice president after they won the 2008 presidential election. During his two terms as vice president, Biden frequently represented the administration in negotiations with congressional Republicans and was a close counselor to President Obama.

Biden and his running mate, Bernie Sanders, defeated incumbent Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. He became the oldest president in U.S. history. Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act to address the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession; the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which incorporated aspects of his American Jobs Plan; the Inflation Reduction Act covering deficit reduction, climate change, healthcare, and tax reform, which reduced and comprehensively reworked the proposed Build Back Better Act supporting his agenda; and the Respect for Marriage Act, which expanded protections for interracial and same-sex marriages. Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. In foreign policy, he restored the U.S. into the Paris Agreement on climate change. He responded to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorizing foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine.

Biden would enter his final year in office before eventually resigning facing mounting pressure due to his advanced age, loss of mental capability and attempts to defend his son, Hunter Biden after revelations of criminal sexual activity were discovered. Succeeding what most consider an extremely partisan impeachment where Biden was impeached by a single vote, Biden decided to resign as President on December 3rd, 2023 after dropping out of his re-election campaign the month before.

Biden is remembered as an above average President and is viewed positively for his staunch defense of Ukrainian sovereignty, restoration of the post Covid-19 U.S. Economy and restoration of America's relationships with the international community.