Happy Birthday Mr. President-Elect
President-elect Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, making this November 20th his 78th birthday. Unless something unexpected happens, he will will be inaugurated as the 46th president on January 20, 2021 and upon taking office, he will become the nation's oldest president. Previously Biden served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama, and prior to that, from 1973 to 2009, he served seven terms as a United States senator for Delaware.
Biden was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His mother was Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden (née Finnegan) and his father was Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. The President-Elect was the oldest child in a Catholic family. He has a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, Francis and James. His mother Jean was of Irish descent and his father Joseph Sr. had English, French, and Irish ancestry. Biden was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, until 1953 when the family moved to Delaware, Biden studied at the University of Delaware before earning his law degree from Syracuse University in 1968.
Biden got his start in elected politics when he was elected a New Castle County Councillor in 1970. He became the sixth-youngest senator in American history when he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972, at the age of 29. As a Senator Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eventually its chairman. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991 and supported expanding the NATO alliance into Eastern Europe and its intervention in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Eleven years later he supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War in 2002, but he later opposed the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. Biden also chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995 and he was a leader in bringing about the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act. As Chairman he oversaw six U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, including the contentious hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
Biden ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and again, twenty years later in 2008. He was reelected to the Senate six times, and was the fourth-most senior senator at the time of his resignation when he left the Senate to serve as Barack Obama's vice president. Obama and Biden were reelected in 2012.
As vice president, Biden was assigned the task of managing the White House role in infrastructure spending in 2009 in response to the Great Recession. He participated in negotiations with congressional Republicans that helped pass legislation including the 2010 Tax Relief Act, which resolved a taxation deadlock. He was also central to the negotiations leading to the Budget Control Act of 2011, which resolved a debt ceiling crisis; and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which addressed the impending "fiscal cliff". Biden also led efforts to pass the United States–Russia New START treaty, and he supported military intervention in Libya. He was also involved in helping to design U.S. policy toward Iraq concerning the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, he also led the Gun Violence Task Force.
Just prior to the end of his term as Vice-President, in January 2017, Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction.
In April 2019, Biden announced his candidacy in the 2020 presidential election. Initially it appeared that his campaign would be unsuccessful following poor showings in the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary. But a primary victory in South Carolina gave momentum to his candidacy, leading to a string of victories in subsequent primaries, and he reached the delegate threshold needed to secure the Democratic nomination in June 2020. On August 11, he announced his choice of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate. Although results have not yet been certified, all indications suggest that Biden defeated Trump in the November 3 election. Recent results reported show Biden with 306 electoral votes to 306to 232 for Donald Trump, and Biden with 51.0% of the popular vote (79,784,165) and Trump with 47.2% (73,763,979).
Biden was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His mother was Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden (née Finnegan) and his father was Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. The President-Elect was the oldest child in a Catholic family. He has a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, Francis and James. His mother Jean was of Irish descent and his father Joseph Sr. had English, French, and Irish ancestry. Biden was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, until 1953 when the family moved to Delaware, Biden studied at the University of Delaware before earning his law degree from Syracuse University in 1968.
Biden got his start in elected politics when he was elected a New Castle County Councillor in 1970. He became the sixth-youngest senator in American history when he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972, at the age of 29. As a Senator Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eventually its chairman. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991 and supported expanding the NATO alliance into Eastern Europe and its intervention in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Eleven years later he supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War in 2002, but he later opposed the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. Biden also chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995 and he was a leader in bringing about the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act. As Chairman he oversaw six U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, including the contentious hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
Biden ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and again, twenty years later in 2008. He was reelected to the Senate six times, and was the fourth-most senior senator at the time of his resignation when he left the Senate to serve as Barack Obama's vice president. Obama and Biden were reelected in 2012.
As vice president, Biden was assigned the task of managing the White House role in infrastructure spending in 2009 in response to the Great Recession. He participated in negotiations with congressional Republicans that helped pass legislation including the 2010 Tax Relief Act, which resolved a taxation deadlock. He was also central to the negotiations leading to the Budget Control Act of 2011, which resolved a debt ceiling crisis; and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which addressed the impending "fiscal cliff". Biden also led efforts to pass the United States–Russia New START treaty, and he supported military intervention in Libya. He was also involved in helping to design U.S. policy toward Iraq concerning the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, he also led the Gun Violence Task Force.
Just prior to the end of his term as Vice-President, in January 2017, Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction.
In April 2019, Biden announced his candidacy in the 2020 presidential election. Initially it appeared that his campaign would be unsuccessful following poor showings in the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary. But a primary victory in South Carolina gave momentum to his candidacy, leading to a string of victories in subsequent primaries, and he reached the delegate threshold needed to secure the Democratic nomination in June 2020. On August 11, he announced his choice of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate. Although results have not yet been certified, all indications suggest that Biden defeated Trump in the November 3 election. Recent results reported show Biden with 306 electoral votes to 306to 232 for Donald Trump, and Biden with 51.0% of the popular vote (79,784,165) and Trump with 47.2% (73,763,979).