Biden leads Democrat drive to ‘Trump-proof’ America

President moves to limit oil drilling in Alaska and will continue ‘surging’ humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine

Joe Biden has said he will make “every day count” before he leaves the White House next year as he moved to limit oil drilling in Alaska.
In a speech from the White House rose garden, addressing Donald Trump’s historic election win, the US president suggested he would continue working on his domestic agenda until he leaves office on Jan 20.
Mr Biden moved to restrict oil extraction at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which has been earmarked by Mr Trump for his plan to “drill, baby, drill” from day one of his administration.
He will also continue “surging” humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine using funds already authorised by Congress, the White House said on Thursday. Mr Trump has indicated he would reduce US support for Kyiv and bring the war to an end before he takes office.
Mr Biden said: “Together, we’ve changed America for the better. Now we have 74 days to finish the term. It’s our turn.
“Let’s make every day count. That’s the responsibility we have to the American people.”
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, on Thursday also launched an attempt to “Trump-proof” the liberal state in the hours after his victory became clear.
He established a special session of the state’s legislature “to safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration”. Lawmakers will initially focus on reproductive rights, immigrant protections and climate change.
In a statement, Mr Newsom said California “will seek to work with the incoming president” but added: “We intend to stand with states across our nation to defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law.”
Mr Biden also used his speech to urge Mr Trump to continue some of his policies next year, including the Inflation Reduction and CHIPS acts, which have funnelled federal money into domestic manufacturing and infrastructure projects.
“The road ahead is clear, assuming we sustain it,” he said. “There’s so much, so much we can get done, and we’ll get done based on the way the legislation was passed.”
Speaking from the White House rose garden, Mr Biden said he accepted the result of the election and would oversee a “peaceful and orderly transition”. He also called on the country to “bring down the temperature” of political debate now the election has concluded.
Mr Trump won the presidency and control of the Senate in Tuesday’s election, and Republicans are also expected to retain control of the House. The “clean sweep” result will allow him to push through major reforms without opposition in Congress.
Mr Biden has long called for an end to divisive rhetoric from Trump supporters, and put arguments about protecting American democracy at the heart of his presidential campaign.
He has called Mr Trump a “genuine danger” to American security and has described some of his comments as “language you heard in Nazi Germany”.
In his speech on Thursday, Mr Biden said Republican claims of electoral malpractice in the US could be “laid to rest” because the American electoral system “can be trusted, win or lose”.
Mr Trump’s transition team, which will lay the groundwork for his first days in office, has begun work on the first executive actions he will take after the inauguration.
They are expected to include the deportation of up to one million illegal migrants, the “sealing” of the southern US border, an expansion of oil and gas drilling and new rules to make it easier for civil servants to be sacked.
The team will also seek to make appointments to Mr Trump’s first Cabinet, which could include a role for Robert F Kennedy Jr and Elon Musk.
Mr Trump received a boost on Thursday when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point – the second reduction this year.
The move signals that the bank believes inflation is under control, and will make it easier for businesses and households to borrow in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Democrats have descended into a blame game over Ms Harris’s loss, which saw her lose support overall in almost every state in the nation.
Some have blamed “arrogant” Mr Biden for his decision to stay in the race for so long after a collapse in his approval ratings earlier this year.
Jim Manley, a top Democratic aide, told Politico: “He shouldn’t have run. This is no time to pull punches or be concerned about anyone’s feelings.
“The country is headed in a very dangerous direction and it’s due in part to his arrogance.”
Mr Biden’s team hit back, telling the same website that it was Mr Obama who should take responsibility for the loss.
“A big reason is because the Obama advisers publicly encouraged Democratic infighting to push Joe Biden out, didn’t even want Kamala Harris as the nominee, and then signed up as the saviours of the campaign only to run outdated Obama-era playbooks for a candidate that wasn’t Obama,” said one ally.
Bernie Sanders, the veteran Democratic senator, blamed his party’s offering to blue collar voters, which he said had driven them towards Mr Trump.
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” he said.
He called for “very serious political discussions” about the direction of the party in the coming weeks.
Others suggested the blame lies with Ms Harris, who chose the relative outsider Tim Walz as her running mate over Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania.
Mr Shapiro released a statement on the result on Thursday, vowing to “never back down from standing up for the freedoms I was elected to protect”. He is a likely contender for the Democratic nomination at the next presidential election.