President Biden says he's "determined to get as much done" as he possibly can in his final six months in the White House as he tries to beat back a defining force that his lame-duck predecessors struggled to vanquish: diminished relevance. "I'm still going to be fully, fully engaged," a gravelly voiced Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19 at his beach home in Delaware, promised staffers during a Monday call-in to his former campaign headquarters, the AP reports. At the White House, staff are waiting for Biden's expected return on Tuesday after he spent the last six days convalescing.
Biden called in as Vice President Kamala Harris, the leading contender to take over as the Democratic presidential nominee, was meeting with campaign staffers, and his comments were his first public remarks since announcing his decision to step aside, the AP reports. He promised he's "not going anywhere" and plans to campaign on Harris' behalf. As he handed off the mantle of leadership to Harris, Biden added: "I'm watching you, kid. I love you." More specifics of what Biden hopes to accomplish during his remaining time in office:
- He will press to quickly fill federal judiciary vacancies—currently there are 48 openings—and make other federal agency appointments, but he will undoubtedly face pushback from Senate Republicans who want to keep Biden from notching any end-of-term wins.
- He is scheduled to meet with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu later this week; he said he is focused on getting a ceasefire agreement and expressed optimism that a deal was close.
- White House chief of staff Jeff Zients listed lowering housing and health care costs, implementing the administration's key legislative achievements, and safeguarding democracy as among Biden's top priorities for the final months of the administration.
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