'One of the Best': Democrats Say Biden's Legacy Will Look Good in Time

With less than a month left of the Biden administration, congressional Democrats contend that history will ultimately be kind to the one-term president.

https://www.notus.org/whitehouse/biden-legacy-democrats

Forget any anger over waiting too long to drop out of the presidential race or dismay that his administration tried to brush off concerns he was too old to run. Forget that after repeatedly pledging he would not grant clemency to his son Hunter, he gave him a sweeping pardon. Forget, too, the news that his dismal approval rating just hit its lowest since taking office and his administration’s unpopularity dragged down Democrats in the House and Senate. NOTUS spoke to over 20 House Democrats, who mostly gave glowing reflections on Joe Biden’s time in office. President-elect Donald Trump has taken center stage since the election — inserting himself into congressional negotiations and making state appearances overseas — while Biden has made himself scarce. But Biden’s allies on the Hill say he’ll be remembered for far more than just helping usher in a second Trump administration.

“He brought the country together,” Rep. Debbie Dingell argued to NOTUS. “The infrastructure money that he invested is fixing roads and getting internet to every family. Education, infrastructure, health care. He did a lot of good things.” Rep. Adriano Espaillat called Biden’s legacy “one of the best in the last, at least, 50 years.” “Probably one of the most productive administrations ever,” Espaillat told NOTUS. “When I went to Egypt for COP27, that was a big hit. The Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the CHIPS Act, a bunch of pieces.” And Rep. Steny Hoyer, the former Democratic majority leader who helped execute Biden’s legislative agenda in Congress, offered similar praise. “He had some extraordinary domestic accomplishments,” he told NOTUS. “He’s done a lot for this country. A lot of people know that,” Rep. Marilyn Strickland told NOTUS. “And when I think about the election results, this was not a mandate, right? [Republicans] barely won the House.”

Other Democrats argued that Biden’s legacy is much more complicated. Yes, Biden is the president who signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law which capped insulin prices at $35 and advanced efforts to curb climate change. He also signed the CHIPS and Science Act which strengthened supply chains and boosted the U.S.’s competitiveness with China. Democrats also point to the 16 million jobs created while Biden was in office and the massive COVID-19 relief bill passed during the earliest days of the administration. But a number of Democrats pointed to the war in Gaza and other foreign policy issues as a larger blemish on Biden’s record. As Rep. Yvette Clarke put it, Biden wasn’t “able to bring the hostages back in the Middle East.” “This is the thing that sort of detracts from all that success,” she told NOTUS. The White House did not return a request for comment.

Biden is also leaving office mired in trust issues. His pardoning of his son Hunter for crimes spanning 11 years, despite pledging that he wouldn’t, left even his closest allies confused and furious. Looming over all this is the incoming administration and a Republican governing trifecta. Biden’s legacy, Rep. Ritchie Torres said, will be much like former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s: “mixed.” “The best of his legacy includes the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lay the foundation for a clean energy transition, and the CHIPS Act, which is going to be instrumental in reindustrializing America,” Torres said. “But the worst of his legacy includes the election of Donald Trump. I do feel like the president’s mishandling of the migrant crisis contributed heavily toward Donald Trump’s win in November.”

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