President Joe Biden gathered the members of his Cabinet for the first time in almost a year.
With the Biden administration approaching its final days, the Democrat terminated his reelection campaign on July 21 after weeks of mounting pressure and a weak debate performance.
During his first Cabinet meeting in 11 months, Biden reportedly planned to pressure his top officials to accomplish his administration’s goals before his time in the White House runs out.
“Time is running out on Biden's presidency. There's no guarantee that Vice President Harris will replace him,” notes Axios.
The president has four months left in his term until the next president is inaugurated.
“He will direct his Cabinet to get as much work done as possible – whether that is moving funding out the door, announcing new programs or policies or delivering on programs and policies we have already announced,” a White House official told CNN before the meeting began.
The official added that Biden “will be clear about making sure we show the American people what the Biden-Harris administration has delivered for them” and that he would “tell his Cabinet to bring to him directly any hurdles or obstacles they are facing to get things done.”
The Cabinet last met on Oct. 2, 2023, per Fox News.
"This Cabinet meeting comes at a time when we have four months left in the administration," Biden said in his remarks before the meeting. "And we’re going to keep running through the tape because the vice president and I are determined to keep making sure that the democracy delivers what the American people are asking for and what we provided."
He emphasized that the escalating tensions in the Middle East were a top concern for his administration.
“We're continuing to try to do what we've tried from the beginning. To make sure that both the people in northern Israel, as well as southern Lebanon, are able to go back to their homes and go back safely," the president told reporters. "And the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, our whole team is working with the intelligence community to try to get that done. We're going to keep at it till we get it done. But, we've got a way to go."
In August, The New York Post’s editorial board argued that Biden’s effort to establish a deal between Egypt and Gaza was “an effort to save [his] legacy, not help Israel.”
First Lady Jill Biden made an appearance at Friday’s Cabinet meeting, where she gave an update on her husband’s administration’s women’s health research initiative.
The final days of his term will be Biden’s last chance to influence the tenor of his presidential legacy. Before he ended his campaign, Biden’s approval rating reached a new low – sliding from 39% in May to 36% in July. His highest approval rating was 57% in January and April of 2021 but public opinion regarding his performance as president collapsed between July 2021 (56%) and October 2021 (42%). He never exceeded a high of 44% during the following years.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer held a hearing to evaluate Biden’s impact on the nation. The hearing is titled "A Legacy of Incompetence: Consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Policy Failures.”
“The economy is suffering, the border is broken, and crises continue to erupt worldwide,” Comer said in his remarks on Thursday. “Everything Joe Biden and Kamala Harris has touched has failed. … The evidence of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ incompetent and weak leadership is seen and felt by Americans across our nation.”
