President Biden has been criticized for a “quiet resignation” and failure to lead his fellow Democrats as Congress continues to fight a budget battle that could lead to a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
The text of the 1,500-page funding bill needed to keep the government running as usual was released Tuesday night, just three days before the end of the current funding cycle. But President-elect Trump undermined the lawmakers' plan by demanding that Republicans renegotiate the bill, which includes raising the debt ceiling and cutting certain Democratic spending initiatives. (Described as “a gift to the Democratic Party.”)
Biden was at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, attending a memorial service for his late ex-wife and baby daughter when news of Trump's request broke. He is scheduled to return to the capital later this afternoon.
Former Obama aides ridicule Biden for “disappearance'' in final months of presidential term: “Trump is not yet president''
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden depart St. Joseph on the Brandywine after worship in Wilmington, Delaware, December 18, 2024. Biden attended a memorial service Wednesday to mark the 52nd anniversary of the deaths of his first wife and daughter. Traffic accident. (Getty Images)
So far, the lame-duck president has not commented on the ongoing spending battle in Congress, but on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement deriding Trump as a “politician.” did.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House to see if Biden plans to speak about the legislative battle, but did not receive a response.
“Presidents are elected to four-year terms, but Joe Biden long ago abdicated the leadership role and responsibility of governing. In the final week before Christmas, while the rest of the country was busy with work, The president is vacationing in Delaware,' and the country he ostensibly still oversees is tipping toward a fiscal cliff,'' said Republican strategist Colin Reed.
Reade added that it is “not surprising” that the Biden administration “seems content to sneak out before the end of his term.” Reed said it was no surprise that Americans “voted for a new direction last month.”
Meanwhile, in addition to Republicans, former aides to former President Barack Obama and a faction known as the “Obama Brothers” who run a popular liberal podcast also condemned Biden's absence, telling podcast listeners this week: . It has become “easily forgotten” that President Trump is not yet in the White House. A recent report in the New York Times also noted that Biden was “getting a little older, a little duller” in the final days of his presidency.
The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony was held outside the White House in Washington, DC on December 5, 2024. (Getty Images)
“I just don't understand it. He seems to be doing some kind of 'quiet quit,'” said David Kochel, a Republican campaign expert.
Biden 'gets a little older, a little slower' in final days of presidency: New York Times
Kocher noted that in addition to being absent amid the fight over government spending, Biden was also absent from the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was attended by dozens of heads of state.
First lady Jill Biden, Brigitte Macron, President-elect Trump, and French President Emmanuel Macron attended the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral held in Paris on December 7, 2024.
“With President Trump and Jill Biden in attendance, the fact that the second Catholic president of this country is not going to reopen Notre Dame, I think he's basically given up on it,” Kochel said. I have no choice but to suspect that there is.” “That being said, does he have the leadership skills and acumen to have a substantial impact on government funding issues at this point? I doubt it.”
However, the Biden administration's cabinet members seem to be different. Several of them this week reiterated their confidence in Biden's ability to fulfill his remaining term as lame-duck president, despite concerns about his advanced age and apparent cognitive decline.
“Maybe it's best for him to disappear into the timber, but it's really strange how much he's disappeared. I think even Democrats are scratching their heads,” Kochel said. .
Michael Chamberlain, director of the ethics watchdog group Protect the Publics Trust, said Biden's lack of leadership “has essentially been the MO of the Biden-Harris administration almost from the beginning.”
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“This vacuum is evident in ethics and transparency, scientific integrity, and other areas. A government that promised to be the most ethical and transparent in history and was supposed to be a 'return to normalcy' But that's proven not to be the case.'' Nothing else,'' Chamberlain said. “Unfortunately, the abdication of leadership in these areas appears to be extending to all aspects of the presidency.”
Earlier this month, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zaients sent a memo to staff outlining the Biden administration's final priorities for the final days before Trump took office. “Let’s finish strong,” he said.
