Last actions the Biden administration will take before Trump moves in
FILE-President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on November 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The Biden administration is working on final tasks ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office in January.
Trump has vowed to cancel unspent money in President Joe Biden's landmark climate and health care law and stop clean-energy development projects.
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According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration also can propose new regulations to reverse some of what the Biden administration did through the rule-making process.
Here are some of the actions the Biden administration is taking now:
Infrastructure spending
The Biden administration is hoping projects under the $1 trillion infrastructure law and $375 billion climate law will last after President Joe Biden’s term and are working to make sure that money from the bill continues to circulate.
According to the Associated Press, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday announced more than $3.4 billion in grants for projects created to improve passenger rail service, help U.S. ports, reduce highway deaths, and support domestic manufacturing or sustainable transportation materials.
Environmental goals
The AP noted that announcements of environmental grants and project approvals have accelerated in recent months in what White House officials describe as "sprinting to the finish" of Biden’s four-year term.
The Environment Protection Agency set a deadline for removal for led pipes and announced nearly $3 billion to help local water systems conform.
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EPA officials also announced that oil and gas companies for the first time are required to pay a federal fee if they emit dangerous methane above certain levels.
According to the AP, the Energy Department announced a $544 million loan to a Michigan company to expand manufacturing of high-quality silicon carbide wafers for electric vehicles.
This loan is one of 28 deals totaling $37 billion granted under a clean-energy loan program that was revived and expanded under Biden.
Ukraine aid
The Biden administration would have to rush $7.1 billion in weapons — $4.3 billion from the 2024 supplemental and $2.8 billion that is still on the books in savings because of the Pentagon recalculating the value of systems sent — from the Pentagon’s stockpiles to spend the money obligated before Donald Trump is sworn in.
Additionally, there is another $2.2 billion available to put weapons systems on long-term contracts. However, recent aid packages have been smaller in size, roughly $200 million to $300 million each.
The AP reported that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the funds are already obligated, which should make them tougher to return because the Biden administration would have to reverse that.
Confirming judicial picks
The Biden administration must get Senate confirmation of as many federal judges as they can before Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
This week, the Senate voted 51-44 to confirm ex-prosecutor April Perry as a U.S. District Court judge in northern Illinois.
Over a dozen pending judicial nominees have advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee; eight judicial nominations are awaiting committee votes and six are waiting for committee hearings, the AP reported.
Trump is encouraging Republicans to oppose efforts to confirm judicial nominees. "No Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership," Trump wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Nov. 10, before congressional Republicans chose their new leaders.
Student loan forgiveness
The Education Department is trying to finalize a new federal rule that would cancel student loans for individuals dealing with financial struggles. The proposal — one of Biden’s only student loan plans that has not been halted by federal courts — is in a public comment period scheduled to end Dec. 2.
According to the AP, the Education Department would have a shorter timeline to finalize the rule and begin carrying it out, a process that takes months. Like President Joe Biden’s other efforts, it would likely face a legal challenge.
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An education official tells the AP that the Biden administration can speed up student loan cancellation for people who were already promised student loan relief.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona may decide that case and others rather than pass it off to the Trump administration, which is expected to be far friendlier to for-profit colleges.
Trump has not yet said what he would do on student loan forgiveness. However, he and Republicans have criticized Biden's efforts.