Joe Biden

Joe Biden
Official portrait, 2021
46th President of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office January 20, 2021
Vice President	Kamala Harris
Preceded by	Donald Trump
47th Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Dick Cheney
Succeeded by	Mike Pence
United States Senator from Delaware
In office January 3, 1973 – January 15, 2009
Preceded by	J. Caleb Boggs
Succeeded by	Ted Kaufman
Personal details
Born	Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (1942-11-20) November 20, 1942 (age 81) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Neilia Hunter ​ ​ (m. 1966; died 1972)​ Jill Biden ​ (m. 1977)​
Children	Beau Hunter Naomi Ashley
Residence	White House
Education	University of Delaware (BA) Syracuse University (JD)
Profession	politician lawyer author
Signature
Website	whitehouse.gov
Joe Biden's voice Biden speaks on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul. Recorded August 16, 2021
Other offices 2007–2009: Chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus 2001[a]–2003, 2007–2009: Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1987–1995: Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee 1971–1973: Member of the New Castle County Council from the 4th district

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (/ˈbaɪdən/ (listen) BY-dən; born November 20, 1942) is an American politician serving as the 46th president of the United States since 2021. Before becoming president, he was the 47th vice president under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a United States senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009. Biden was a member of the Senate longer than any other president or vice president.^[1][2]

He tried to become the Democratic candidate for president in 1988 and 2008 but dropped out of the race. During the 2008 election, then-Senator Barack Obama picked him to be his running mate. He is a Roman Catholic.^[3] Biden has received several awards. He has five honorary doctorates, including one from his alma mater and one from where he has taught law.^[4] He has also earned the "Best of Congress Award", an award from the Pakistani government,^[5] and the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction.^[6]

After finishing his second term as vice president, Biden began working at the University of Pennsylvania.^[7] On April 25, 2019, Biden launched his presidential campaign for the 2020 election.^[8] On April 8, 2020, Biden became the likely nominee for the Democratic nomination after Bernie Sanders ended his campaign.^[9] On November 7, he defeated former President Donald Trump and became the president-elect of the United States.^[10] He became president on January 20, 2021. He is the oldest person to become president and the first from the state of Delaware. He is also the second Catholic president to hold the office after John F. Kennedy.

As president, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. He signed bipartisan bills on infrastructure as well. Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. He worked with congressional Republicans to fix the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis by creating a deal to raise the debt ceiling. He also made America rejoin the Paris Agreement. He pulled out U.S. troops from Afghanistan that ended the war in Afghanistan, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban taking control. He responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by putting sanctions on Russia and giving civilian and military aid to Ukraine. During the Israel–Hamas war, Biden called the actions of Hamas as terrorism,^[11] announced military support for Israel and sent a small amount of humanitarian help to the Gaza Strip.^[12][13][14]

In April 25, 2023, Biden announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 presidential election, and was the presumptive nominee. After performing badly in a June 2024 debate with Trump and some age and health concerns, Biden ended his candidacy and endorsed Harris to replace him.
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1. ↑ "Longest Serving Senators". US Government. Archived from the original on September 2, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
2. ↑ "Biden Longest Serving Senator". Archived from the original on September 8, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
3. ↑ Gibson, Ginger (August 25, 2008). "Parishioners not surprised to see Biden at usual Mass". The News Journal.
4. ↑ "Biden to grads: You have chance to shape history". Associated Press. May 10, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
5. ↑ "Pakistan gives awards to Biden, Lugar for support". Reuters. Oct 28, 2008. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved Nov 26, 2008.
6. ↑ Cite error: The named reference mof2 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
7. ↑ Berke, Jeremy (February 7, 2017). "Here's what Joe Biden will do after 8 years as vice president". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
8. ↑ Martin, Jonathan; Burns, Alexander (March 7, 2019). "Joe Biden's 2020 Plan Is Almost Complete. Democrats Are Impatient". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
9. ↑ "Sanders drops out, paving way for Biden". The Hill. April 8, 2020. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
10. ↑ "Biden defeats Trump for White House, says 'time to heal'". Associated Press. November 7, 2020. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
11. ↑ House, The White (2023-10-07). "Statement from President Joe Biden Condemning Terrorist Attacks in Israel". The White House. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
12. ↑ "Biden signs bill that includes funding for Israel, aid for Gaza". The Washington Post. April 24, 2024.
13. ↑ Beggin, Riley. "Ukraine, Israel aid package heads to Biden as Congress caps monthslong struggle". USA Today. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
14. ↑ "US Airdrops of Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza Explained". Voice of America. March 2, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2024.