Legacies and Liabilities – Biden’s Parting Gifts

The waning days of President Biden could have long-ranging implications.

Imagine for a moment the CEO of a Fortune 500 company who makes a series of decisions so damaging to the business that the board votes him out before the end of his contract. And then ask whether the decisions that the old chief executive made should be foisted upon the new broom? It doesn’t make a huge amount of sense. Consider how successful a company might be if it is saddled with “new coke” even though the manging board and the new frontman wanted it gone. This is an imperfect, but pertinent reflection of what is happening in the waning days of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Suspicious Timing

Incoming President Donald Trump has declared it his mission to bring down the cost of energy – without doubt one of the largest considerations and costs for American businesses and homes. To achieve this, he needs one key thing: more energy supply. Indeed, future historians (and 2028 voters for a Trump successor) will very likely use his energy success or failure as a yardstick for this second stint in the Oval Office. With that in mind, President Joe Biden’s Monday, January 6 decision to permanently take out of play 625 million acres of ocean for drilling leases hints at hamstringing rather than environmental crusading.

January 2020, Biden came back to Washington, DC, with the wind in his sails and control of both the House and the Senate (thanks to the VP’s tie-breaking vote). Climate change and environmentalism were high on his list of priorities and a swath of complicated spending bills soon followed – many of them related the climate cause in where the taxpayer dollars eventually went. So why did Joe Biden not “permanently” block drilling leases during his four years in office?

As demonstrated, it can be achieved with a simple Executive Order (although undoing it is far more complex – more on this later), and if it was important enough to do today, it was surely just as important to do four years ago. So why didn’t he?

Biden Knows

As people age, they start thinking about their legacy. For many, that legacy involves children and grandchildren, and often community. For those in the public eye, legacy is more often about comparison. Joe Biden’s decision to try and stay on four more years is a legacy killer. Those who supported Kamala Harris will forever be able to blame Biden for not handing over the reins earlier (although in fairness, Harris was such a poor candidate, she may have lost even if her campaign began in 2021).

Biden’s choice to aim for a second term – and then withdraw late in the game – almost certainly played a part in Donald Trump’s successful return to power; this is now an intrinsic part of the 46th president’s legacy. Mr. Biden and his team are looking to the future and it seems they are hoping to instil a sense of buyer’s remorse in the electorate who chose to send Trump back to the Swamp.

What better way to do this than to ensure the 47th president’s failure.

Drill, Baby, Drill – But Not Yet!

Biden’s Executive Order utilizes the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to take the area out of oil and natural gas leasing consideration. This means that to undo the order, Trump needs Congress to get on board. Unlike many other EOs, it can’t be rolled back with the stroke of a pen.

Trump himself was adamant that he would put an end to it, saying, “Look, it’s ridiculous. I’ll unban it immediately.” “We can’t let that happen to our country,” Trump added. “It’s really our greatest economic asset.” But with the narrowest of House margins at his disposal, it’s easier said than done.

Incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, wrote in response:

“This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.”

Trump may well be able to get Congress behind his plans and reverse Biden’s actions, but that will take time and effort. And for a president with an inescapable January 2029 expiry date, time is the true currency. With the world embroiled in hot wars and the porous open border at breaking point, how much treasure can the new American CEO spend on undoing the poison pills and legislative “new cokes” left behind by his predecessor?