In order to establish his legacy before Donald Trump's inauguration, President Joe Biden plans to enact land protections, clemency, and artificial intelligence in the final weeks of his presidency.
The latest moves come as Biden tries to protect crucial records before a change in power would nullify many of them. The letter, which was written by white house communications director Ben LaBolt, lays out a defense of the Biden record while pointing out that a number of the projects are still years away from realizing their full potential.
"A presidency is not measured just in weeks, months, or four-year terms alone - rather its impact is evaluated for years and decades to come," LaBolt wrote in the materials that were referenced in a story by Bloomberg. "The seeds President Biden and Vice President harris planted over the past four years are beginning to sprout and their potential will be fully unleashed long into the future."
On his first day in office, trump is preparing to execute a series of orders, some of which may target key issues on Biden's agenda. According to Bloomberg, the Republican sweep of congress also opens the door for reversing some of Biden's legislative victories, even though the narrow margin in the house of Representatives may make it more challenging.
Trump's victory over Kamala harris has made Democrats pause and reconsider how they handle public relations. The key choice in that process is whether to closely follow the strategy that Biden employed to win the white house in 2020 or to aggressively restructure the party in a new way.
Supporters have criticized Biden for his decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, as part of that reflection.
LaBolt signaled four key areas with announcements forthcoming:
Artificial intelligence, without specifying the measures, and student debt cancellation
New funding awards via the 2022 computer chips law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and high-speed Internet funds for states
Biden will "continue taking action to protect our lands and waters and continue our climate ambition alongside state, local, and tribal and business leaders."
New commutations and pardons, which LaBolt didn't detail, though the white house hasn't ruled out attempts to pardon people in advance of what it believes would be vindictive efforts by Trump's administration to prosecute top Democrats.