Biden’s in a Tough Spot

After wrangling with House Republicans during his State of the Union Address, Biden returns to reality.

Washington D.C.𑁋These are perilous times for President Joe Biden. After having the most legislatively productive first two years of any modern U.S. president, crisis after crisis pits him against the most extreme elements of the Republican caucus who disagree with his politics. Biden is under threat as congressional investigations pick up, and attacks on his only living son, Hunter Biden, are renewed as Republicans focus on the younger Biden’s laptop and alleged business crimes.

As his wins in Washington and across Europe grew, Biden’s team threaded uncharted waters after convincing dozens of nations to isolate the Russian economy. After appointing Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, his student loan forgiveness program stalled after the high court intervened. In early 2022, he unified NATO and began sharing more intelligence with allies after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started almost a year ago. 

Last week, Biden’s administration shot down a fourth unauthorized flying object in North America over seven days. 

After thwarting a red wave in the November midterms, a special prosecutor appointed by the Department of Justice continues to probe his handling of classified documents. The DOJ is probing a sitting U.S. president, a former president, and the previous vice president after uncovering classified materials in their private homes. With countries growing wary of sharing sensitive intelligence, revelations of U.S. officials mishandling classified material could complicate future intelligence gathering. 

While Biden vacationed in St. Croix at the turn of the new year, he’d known for weeks that his lawyers handed over classified documents found at his private office to the National Archives. He also knew that the Archives contacted federal law enforcement in response. St. Croix gained the designation as a national heritage site in the days after his visit, but Biden remained mum on federal voting rights for U.S. territories.

In November, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich penned an editorial after his party suffered losses in the midterms, warning Republicans seeking to retake the White House in 2024 to “quit underestimating” Joe Biden.

Two years into his term and buoyed by more bipartisan wins than his predecessor, Biden finds himself in a tough spot as tensions with foreign adversaries deepen. Last week’s uptick in airspace incursions likely caught the White House off guard. In his State of the Union address, he might have cornered Republicans into backing down from pushing to “sunset” social security and Medicare. Still, without a deal on the nation’s debt ceiling, the U.S. government could default for the first time in its history.