Biden's Lame-Duck Agenda

published 10 December 2024

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Now, the part that every president dreads: The post-election tying up of loose ends, better known as the “lame-duck” period. Here is what you can expect from Joe Biden’s. Biden hopes he can “Trump-proof” his legacy. That means finalizing big regulations in the works. Among them:

Extreme-heat protections for workers.
A modernization of the H-1B visa program.
New limits on lead exposure for children.
A ban on medical debt in credit reports.

Some of the rules are done now, but don’t take effect until next year. Others have work to be done and may not be finished before January 20, when Trump takes office. Unfinished regulations are easier for a new president to withdraw or start from scratch.

Look for an expedited approval of projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law passed during Biden’s first year in office and the CHIPS Act of 2022. Most recently, the Department of Transportation has prioritized projects to improve rail service, ports, and both urban and rural roads. Expect the agency to focus more on clean energy in its final few weeks, given Trump’s desire to deprioritize such projects. Similarly, the Department of Commerce will aim to disburse more of its $53 billion in subsidies to chipmakers, very little of which has actually gone out the door yet.

The White House will also spend as much money as it can on aid to Ukraine, another priority that Trump opposes. The Pentagon still has an estimated $7.1 billion it can use to send weapons from its stockpiles to Kyiv, plus another $2.2 billion for long-term weapons contracts that can help Ukraine resist the Russian invasion.

Ultimately, there is only so much Biden can do to preempt his successor. On the regulatory front, finalizing rules can’t prevent Trump from later repealing them, though it will slow the new administration down. It will also be difficult for Trump to refuse spending money that has already been allocated by Congress; however, he will have a say over how huge amounts of Biden’s signature legislative achievements are spent. By one estimate, there is still nearly $300 billion in infrastructure funding left to award, vs. the $570 billion and counting the Biden administration has spent.

In a few cases, Biden may actually tee up Trump. The new administration will likely expand on Biden’s recently unveiled export control package, intended to target China’s semiconductor industry and other areas of competitive concern. Meanwhile, the Senate will continue confirming Biden’s judicial nominees, despite Republican efforts to slow down the process, at Trump’s urging. So far, Biden has secured 223 Article III judicial confirmations, 45 for federal appeals courts. And he currently has 21 outstanding nominations. Notably, Biden’s final nominee —Tali Farhadian Weinstein of N.Y — won’t have time to gain Senate confirmation.

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This forecast first appeared in The Kiplinger Letter, which has been running since 1923 and is a collection of concise weekly forecasts on business and economic trends, as well as what to expect from Washington, to help you understand what’s coming up to make the most of your investments and your money. Subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter.

Housiaux covers the White House and state and local government for The Kiplinger Letter. Before joining Kiplinger in June 2016, he lived in Sioux Falls, SD, where he was the forum editor of Augustana University's student newspaper, the Mirror. He also contributed stories to the Borgen Project, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on raising awareness of global poverty. He earned a B.A. in history and journalism from Augustana University.