Behind the scenes, President Joe Biden’s team has been preparing for his big final weeks in office, regardless of who won the 2024 election.
“The schedule will be robust and he plans to leave it all on the field,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt told NBC News in September.
During his speech to the nation last Wednesday, Biden addressed some of his administration’s final priorities, including a focus on infrastructure spending, which was a major legislative accomplishment of his presidency.
"We're going to see over a trillion dollars' worth of infrastructure work done, changing people's lives in rural communities and communities that are in real difficulty," the president said.
In addition to getting infrastructure projects off the ground before Trump takes office, White House advisers said Biden will also work to safeguard freedoms the president believes are under threat, strengthen global alliances, and take steps to reduce costs for Americans.
Getting the rest of the funds and weapons to Ukraine
The White House is working to get funds and weaponry into the hands of Ukrainians by January, according to CNN.
“Democrats in Congress have shared the administration’s concerns that any of the billions in aid to Ukraine that have already passed could be slow walked or blocked if it isn’t entirely transferred to Ukraine by the time Trump is sworn in,” said the report.
Biden is also expected to move quickly to ensure Ukraine receives all of the $6 billion in security assistance before Trump has the power to stop equipment shipments, according to Politico. This would allow for all of the funding that has been approved through Congress to be sent off before Trump begins his term.
With Biden’s exit, the decision in June to give NATO more control over aid should prove beneficial to Ukraine’s ability to access weapons and funding if Trump were to halt it.
Creating legal protections for climate
Biden's climate and environmental regulations, particularly those tied to the Inflation Reduction Act, are likely to face strong opposition from the incoming Trump administration. According to CNN, EPA Administrator Michael Regan highlighted that the agency has worked to make its pollution-reducing rules legally robust, with significant climate regulations finalized by April to avoid being overturned via the Congressional Review Act. (That’s what allowed Trump and Congressional Republicans to reverse Obama-era rules.)
As of October, Biden had allocated a vast majority, 92%, of the IRA budget. This means that the contents of the bill to support clean energy projects, pollution reduction, and climate-resilient efforts are underway.
Trump has threatened to rescind any unspent funding from the IRA. However, this is politically risky due to significant private investments flowing into Republican districts. Nearly 78% of investments in new electric vehicle factories and large wind/solar projects have gone to GOP-controlled areas, according to a CNN data analysis.
Appointing judges
As Democrats prepare for a likely Republican trifecta, Biden and Congress are prioritizing getting judicial nominees passed in their lame-duck session before Trump takes office, according to The New York Times. Around 30 nominees are already in progress.
A post-election session of the Senate begins Tuesday, according to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “We are going to get as many done as we can,” Schumer said in a statement.
Some have even suggested that liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is 70, should step aside and allow Democrats to confirm a younger justice before Trump begins his second term, on Jan. 20. For instance, she could make her retirement contingent on the confirmation of her replacement. However, the window of opportunity to make this happen is closing swiftly.
Bonus: Blue-state governors fight back
Democratic governors are preparing to fight Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said he’s taking the first step to protect the blue state by calling for a special legislative session.
Other Democratic governors are following suit.
“You come for my people, you come through me,” said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a stern warning to Trump on Thursday, vowing to protect Illinoisans from Trump’s expected rollback of rights.
Washington Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson prepared for the Trump administration by reading the entire text of Project 2025, according to reporting from Washington State Standard. Ferguson is no stranger to litigating the Trump administration. He sued the Trump administration 100 times as attorney general during Trump’s first term, hitting the Republican on things like the Muslim ban, revoking student visas for international students, and environmental rollbacks.
“I pray that the things we’re talking about don’t come to pass. If this team never has to file a single lawsuit against the Trump administration, no one would be more happy than me,” Ferguson said. “But I’m not naive.”
Republished with permission from Daily Kos.
