Now that President Joe Biden is no longer running for reelection, he’s shifted focus onto finishing his last few months in office as strongly as possible to leave a single-term legacy, but he’s also placing the responsibility for planning that end onto his team.
On Wednesday, Aug. 14, the White House chief of staff Jeff Zientz held a virtual meeting with appointees from several Biden administration agencies and briefed them on what the president’s team has planned for his last six months in the Oval Office. Reporters were able to obtain audio from that call.
Zients explained the four central pillars of that agenda: continuing the implementation of existing key legislation; lowering the cost of living while boosting the economy through trying to lower prescription drug costs and relieving student loan debt; protecting civil rights and personal freedoms by resisting extremism and hate; and ensuring American leadership, strength, and security in the world.
Jake Sullivan, a national security adviser, addresses the fourth part of the agenda and said the president “can expect to see very busy months” visiting other countries and attending summits. He also stressed that Biden should prioritize avoiding escalation in the Middle East leading to “a larger war” in the region by completing a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, a deal he said the president worked “hard to deliver.”
Sullivan went into the president’s hope about what he could achieve regarding the war in Ukraine before leaving office. The adviser said wants to leave Ukraine in “the best possible position on the battlefield” and at the “negotiating table” with Russia. He added that the administration would soon release a major national security memo on artificial intelligence (AI).
Zientz rallied the top political appointees and said Biden is asking them to put together a solid plan to make sure the administration could finish as strong as he feels it started now that he is no longer seeking a second term and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris to run in his place. Biden asked his lieutenants to “continue to push the envelope” by looking for any “opportunities for new policy” while also implementing legislation based on his current policy, although he admitted that a polarized Congress and time constraints would make passing new laws “challenging.”
Zientz passed on the message that the president wants them to “get a little rest and recharge” in August while gearing up for “the final stretch.”
