Joe Biden: Five key blunders from US President's time in the White House
JOE BIDEN has spent little more than one year as US President and experienced a tumultuous time of things. So, where has he struggled to assert his authority in the White House so far?
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Covid, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine are just some of the issues that US President Joe Biden has had to contend with during his time in office. Mr Biden has not been universally popular with US residents, with some of his decisions drawing criticism from both sides of Congress. Here, Express.co.uk takes a look back at five key blunders he’s made to date during his presidency.
1.) Failed “Build Back Better” act
Originally, Mr Biden’s Build Back Better act was drafted with a budget of $3.5 trillion (£2.7 trillion) that included provisions and support for infrastructure and social policies.
However, the legislation failed to get passed into law despite a commitment from the incumbent President that it would succeed by last Christmas.
The act was proposed by Mr Biden before his inauguration and after initially being passed by the House in November, it’s since been stalled in the Senate.
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2.) Covid mismanagement
Mr Biden has long been aware of the severity of the pandemic, as well as the need for effective measures to manage the crisis.
Although he oversaw a mass vaccination campaign in the opening months of his presidency, the emergence of the Delta variant last summer - and the recent wave of Omicron - has stalled his initial progress.
The administration's lack of preparation for new variants was reflected in the sharp surge in cases nationwide, as well as in the shortage of testing kits.
3.) Record inflation
Mr Biden's economic accomplishments have been bittersweet. On the one hand, his administration approved a hefty $1.9 trillion (£1.4 trillion) Covid relief package and passed a $1.2 trillion (£894 billion) bipartisan infrastructure law.
Additionally, a record 6.4 million jobs were created, which saw unemployment drop to just 3.9 percent last December.
On the other hand, national inflation rose to a record 7.5 percent in January - the highest the measure has been in 40 years.
The upshot in prices represented the seventh consecutive month of price increments.
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4.) Withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
A report published last month faulted the Biden administration for the chaos that unfolded during the final days of the occupation in Afghanistan.
US armed forces helped to lead an evacuation of troops and civilians from the middle-eastern country the previous summer.
However, the withdrawal itself was accused of being short-sighted and resulting in scenes where Afghan civilians attempted to cling to departing US aircraft, leading to casualties.
More than a dozen US servicemen were also killed when a suicide bomber detonated themselves outside Kabul airport, where masses of civilians had gathered.
5.) Failure to cancel student debt
On the campaign trail, Mr Biden vowed he would cancel at least $10,000 (£7,451) of student loan debt per person in an effort to undo individual burdens the loans imposed.
Much debate has been had about the President's authority to personally write off student debts, with certain factions of the Democratic Party urging him to use executive action to resolve the issue.
However, Mr Biden himself expressed his doubt towards that approach, and said in April: "I don't think I have the authority.”