Biden to praise foreign policy record as end of presidency nears
Joe Biden is scheduled to begin delivering his speech on his administration’s foreign policy accomplishments, which will touch on everything from his work to fortify Nato to his administration’s policies towards Ukraine, Israel and Afghanistan.
The president will speak from the state department, and we’ll let you know what he has to say as soon as the speech begins.
Key events
Biden defends withdrawal from Afghanistan, says counter-terrorism objectives achieved
One of the first signs of trouble for Joe Biden’s administration was when his public approval ratings slumped amid the chaotic withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, which saw the Taliban sweep back into power and 13 US troops killed in a terrorist attack.
The president’s public support never recovered, but as he spoke to diplomats at the state department, Biden said he had no regrets about leaving the country after 20 years of war.
Calling himself “the first president in decades who’s not handing a war in Afghanistan to a successor”, Biden said the United States “got Bin Laden during the Obama-Biden administration” and “the primary objective of war had been accomplished”.
“And I believe that going forward, the primary threat of al-Qaida would no longer be emanating from Afghanistan, but from elsewhere. And so we not need to station sizable number of American forces in Afghanistan,” the president said.
Biden says Putin ‘failed’ in Ukraine but ‘there’s more to do’
Joe Biden then turned to perhaps his signature foreign policy achievement, which is preventing Russia from swiftly taking over Ukraine after it launched its invasion in 2022.
“When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he conquered Kyiv in a matter of days. The truth is, since that war began, I’m the only one that stood in the center of Kyiv, not him,” the president said, nodding to his 2023 journey to Ukraine’s capital.
Despite Ukraine’s early successes, the war in the country has continued to grind on, and Biden said continued support to Kyiv is essential.
“There’s more to do. We can’t walk away,” Biden said. “I had two jobs, one to rally the world and defend Ukraine, and the other is to avoid war between two nuclear powers. We did both those things. Today, Ukraine is still [a] free, independent country with the potential, potential for a bright future, and we laid the foundation for the next administration so they can protect the bright future of the Ukrainian people.”
Incoming president Donald Trump has long criticized America’s allies in Nato for not spending enough on defense.
Joe Biden argued that his administration had made progress in that area. “Today, I can report to the American people, our alliances are stronger than they’ve been in decades,” Biden said.
“Nato is more capable than ever been, and many more of our allies are paying their fair share. Before I took office, nine Nato allies are spending 2% of the GDP on defense. Now, 23 are spending 2%.”
Biden says ‘America is stronger’ and enemies are ‘weaker’ after four years in office
Joe Biden then took the stage and declared that the United States had weathered the foreign crises that had tested it over the past four years.
“The post-cold war period is over. A new era has begun,” Biden began.
“Right now, in my view, thanks to our administration, the United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago. America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker.”
While Biden approved weapons sales to foreign allies during his presidency, most notably Ukraine and Israel, the president argued that he accomplished his foreign policy goals without sending US troops abroad: “We have not gone to war to make these things happen during my presidency.”
Joe Biden has arrived at the state department and has taken the stage alongside Antony Blinken, who is delivering opening remarks.
“You instructed me, you instructed all of us, to get out there, to rebuild, to rejuvenate, even to reimagine our alliances and partnerships,” the outgoing secretary of state said, recalling Biden’s words to him at the start of his presidency.
“And I remember what you told me. Then, you said, we don’t know when this is going to make a difference, when we’re going to need these friendships, these partnerships, but someday, someway, somewhere, they’re going to be critical for advancing the national interest. And that’s exactly what the men and women of this department have done.”
Biden to praise foreign policy record as end of presidency nears
Joe Biden is scheduled to begin delivering his speech on his administration’s foreign policy accomplishments, which will touch on everything from his work to fortify Nato to his administration’s policies towards Ukraine, Israel and Afghanistan.
The president will speak from the state department, and we’ll let you know what he has to say as soon as the speech begins.
The Senate energy panel announced that the nomination hearing for Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the interior, former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, will be postponed.
The hearing, originally scheduled for Tuesday, will now take place on Thursday.
It comes after Democrats on the panel asked to delay the hearing, arguing that they still have not received key documents from Burgum, including his financial disclosures and an ethics agreement.
Burgum is also being considered to head a new national energy council to coordinate policies to boost US energy production.
Negotiators for a truce in the Gaza war and a hostage release are “close to a deal”, the White House’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
“We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week. I’m not making a promise or prediction, but it is there for the taking, and we are going to work to make it happen,” Sullivan told reporters on Monday.
Separately, a round of ceasefire talks will be held in Doha on Tuesday morning to finalize remaining details related to the deal, a US official told Reuters.
A deal to end the Gaza war is “closer than it’s ever been”, the official said, adding that President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, outgoing Biden administration envoy Brett McGurk and Israel’s Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar were expected to attend.
Robert Tait
Gavin Newsom has accused the tech billionaire Elon Musk of “encouraging looting” in an escalation of a row over disinformation surrounding the deadly Los Angeles fires.
The California governor lashed out after Musk, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s wealthiest supporter, reposted a message on X – the social media platform he owns – that falsely accused the governor and his fellow Democrats of decriminalising looting.
“Stop encouraging looting by lying and telling people it’s decriminalized. It’s not,” Newsom wrote. “It’s illegal – as it always has been.”
The clash came amid concerns of a looting spree after owners who had been forced to abandon their homes as the flames spread later returned to find the contents had been burgled.
About 30 people have been arrested, most of them for suspected looting, since the fires threatened to engulf several Los Angeles neighbourhoods.
Here’s more on the news that a federal judge has allowed the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case:
The justice department can publicly release its investigative report on the president-elect’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, US district judge Aileen Cannon said on Monday.
But a temporary injunction barring the immediate release of the report remains in effect until Tuesday, Associated Press reports.
Cannon had earlier temporarily blocked the department from releasing the entire report on Smith’s investigations into Trump that led to two separate criminal cases.
It is unlikely that Cannon’s order will be the last word on the matter, and defense lawyers may seek to challenge it all the way up to the supreme court.
The day so far
Former justice department special counsel Jack Smith’s report into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election will be made public, after a judge lifted the hold she has placed on its release last week. However, Aileen Cannon maintained the pause she had put on the sharing of Smith’s report into Trump’s possession of classified documents. The special counsel had led both cases, only to drop the charges after Trump won re-election.
Over in Congress, senators are gearing up for back-to-back confirmation hearings for the president-elect’s cabinet picks, beginning tomorrow with Pete Hegseth, Trump’s controversial nominee to lead the Pentagon.
And at 2pm today, Joe Biden will defend his foreign policy in a speech from the state department – including his divisive decisions to pull the US out of Afghanistan and supply Israel with weapons.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
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Smith’s resignation from the justice department last week did not stop Trump from bashing him on social media.
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Trump’s inaugural committee has released a lineup of events to welcome the incoming president, beginning with reception dinners for him and JD Vance on Saturday.
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Confirmation hearings have not yet been scheduled for Robert F Kennedy Jr, Kash Patel or Tulsi Gabbard, three of Trump’s more eyebrow-raising picks for cabinet spots.
Judge allows release of special counsel’s report into Trump’s effort to overturn 2020 election
A federal judge has allowed the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Reuters reports.
Florida judge Aileen Cannon’s decision lifts an order blocking the report’s release she had placed last week. However, Cannon also maintained a pause she had placed on releasing to senior members of Congress Smith’s report on his investigation of Trump for hiding classified documents.
Smith dropped both cases after Trump won re-election, and resigned from the justice department last week:
