President Biden holds news conference to mark one year in office

President Joe Biden answers questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on January 19 in Washington, DC.

President Biden marked his first year in office with an address and news conference from the White House.

Biden highlighted his administration’s accomplishments as well as the challenges that lie ahead as many priorities in his agenda remain stalled, including the Build Back Better Act and voting rights legislation.

The President said he thinks his report card going into the midterms is “pretty good,” and is confident his administration will be able to sign into law “good chunks” of his agenda.

Biden took questions from reporters and spoke for more than 90 minutes.

Here are the key take aways:

The White House has issued a high-level clarification following President Biden’s remarks suggesting potential disunity within NATO over how to respond in the event of a “minor incursion” by Russia into Ukraine.

Psaki continued by noting that the president “knows from long experience that the Russians have an extensive playbook of aggression short of military action, including cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics.”

Additionally, the statement continued with Psaki adding that Biden “affirmed today that those acts of Russian aggression will be met with a decisive, reciprocal, and united response.”

Earlier Wednesday: As part of a live press conference marking his first full year in office, Biden intimated that Western nations may not be fully aligned on how to react should Russia commit a lesser violation. 

“It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do,” Biden told reporters at an East Room news conference. “But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.”

President Biden said one thing that has been made clear to him is the different role he now plays as President, opposed to his decades of service in the US Senate. 

“One of the things that I do think that has been made clear to me, speaking of polling, is the public doesn’t want me to be the President-senator. They want me to be the President, and let senators be senators,” Biden said during a news conference to mark his first year in office. 

President Biden said Wednesday that he was unsure that the child tax credit could pass in a scaled-back version of his Build Back Better agenda, a key provision Democrats have sought to extend that lacks support from moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. 

Earlier in the news conference, Biden expressed openness to splitting the Build Back Better bill into smaller pieces or “big chunks” that could pass, but notably did not mention the child tax credit.

When asked whether that would have to wait, Biden said it was one of two major priorities he campaigned on that he was unsure he could get in a scaled-back package.

Some context: Eligible American families received monthly payments of up to $300 per child from July 2021 until they expired in December 2021.

Manchin had expressed opposition to the provision, citing the cost of the sweeping bill to expand the social safety net. 

President Biden defended his record on voting rights amid criticism that he did not prioritize election reform earlier in his administration.

“I started on the voting right issues long, long ago,” Biden said at a news conference at the White House to mark his first year in office. “That’s what got me involved with politics in the first place.”

Biden went on to say that he hasn’t left Washington enough in the last few months to promote his agenda to the American people.

“I think that’s a problem that is my own making, by not communicating as much as I should have,” he said.

A Ukrainian official told CNN’s Matthew Chance he is “shocked that the US President Biden would distinguish between incursion and invasion” and suggest that a minor incursion would not trigger sanctions but an invasion would. 

“This gives the green light to Putin to enter Ukraine at his pleasure,” the official added.

During his news conference marking one year in office, Biden suggested a “minor incursion” by Russia would elicit a lesser response than a full-scale invasion of the country.

The Ukrainian official added he’d never heard any nuance like this from the US administration before. 

“Kyiv is stunned,” he added, referring to the Ukrainian government.

President Biden says he wants to pierce the White House bubble during his second year in office.

He told CNN during the news conference that after containing a series of crises, he wants to solicit more outside advice and speak to more people outside the building.

“I’m satisfied with the team,” Biden said, but went on to list three things he hopes to do differently in 2022.

“Number one, out of this place more often,” he said. “I’m going to go out and talk to the public. I’m going to do public fora. I’m going to interface with them. I’m going to make the case of what we’ve already done, why it’s important and what we’ll do, what will happen if they support what else I want to do.”

Biden has traveled less often than his predecessors due to being restrained by the pandemic. He has visited comparatively fewer states and has only been outside the US twice.

Biden said his second change would be consulting a wider range of advice from people outside the White House.

Biden said his third change would be engaging more with Democrats during the midterm elections.

“I’m going to be deeply involved in these off-year elections,” he said. “We’re going to be raising a lot of money. We’re going to be out there making sure that we’re helping all those candidates and scores of them already asked me to come in and campaign with them to go out and make the case in plain simple language as to what it is we have done, what we want to do and why we think it’s important.”

As President Biden held a news conference to tout his administration’s achievements during his first year in office, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin criticized his party over their push to end the filibuster in order to advance legislation on voting rights.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Manchin said he was speaking out against “a great misleading of the American people.”

The West Virginia Democrat has repeatedly said he will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster, which sets a 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation, creating an obstacle for his party as Senate Democrats push for a rules change.

At the same time, Biden was asked about voting rights, specifically about Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney’s recent remarks, attacking the White House for keeping Republicans out of discussions over election reform.

“The fact is that I do think that Mitt is a serious guy,” Biden said. “I think we can get things done. I predict that we’ll get something done on the electoral reform side of this.”

He continued, “But rather judge what we’ll get done and not get done, all I can say is I’ll continue to make the case why it’s so important to not turn electoral process over to political persons set up to change the outcome of elections.”

Some background: The Senate is on track to hold a vote Wednesday evening to attempt to break a GOP filibuster on voting legislation that combines key provisions of two bills: the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Debate for the legislative package is under way Wednesday afternoon, and a vote is expected around 6:30 p.m. ET.

President Biden defended the US withdrawal from Afghanistan nearly five months later.

“Raise your hand if you think anyone was going to be able to unify Afghanistan under one single government? It’s been the graveyard of empires for a solid reason: It is not susceptible to unity,” Biden said during today’s news conference.

Citing the weekly spending of nearly one billion dollars to keep American forces in the state, Biden noted what he called no possibility at a peaceful resolution.

“The question was, do I continue to spend that much money per week in the state of Afghanistan knowing that the idea that being able to succeed, other than sending more body bags back home, is highly, highly unusual,” he said.

Biden did, however, express empathy for the lives lost amid the withdrawal.

“I have a great concern for the women and men who were blown up on the line at the airport by a terrorist attack against them,” he said.

Placing blame on previous administrations, Biden continued to defend the late August operation.

“Had we not gotten out, the acknowledgment is we’d be putting a lot more forces in … do I feel badly [about] what’s happening as a consequence of the incompetence of the Taliban? Yes, I do,” Biden said, adding that there are “a whole range of things around the world, that we can’t solve every problem. And so I don’t view that as a competence issue.”

President Biden lamented his predecessor’s hold on the Republican Party as his sweeping domestic agenda and election reform priorities remain stalled in Congress with no path forward. 

Without naming former President Trump, Biden railed against Trump’s threats to support primary opponents for politicians who take positions Trump views as disloyal.

Biden said that “five Republican senators” have expressed to him that they would be in support of legislation he endorses, but they are afraid of getting defeated in a primary.

“We’ve gotta break that. It’s gotta change,” Biden said.

When asked to name those five Republicans, Biden declined to say.

Some context: Biden’s response comes after he made clear that he did not expect the level of “stalwart” Republican obstruction to his agenda during his first year in office, saying he would spend more time directly making his case to the American people going forward. 

President Biden didn’t hesitate when asked if he was satisfied with Vice President Kamala Harris’ work on voting rights and if she would be his running mate in 2024.

“Yes, and yes,” Biden fired back to the question.

“She’s going to be my running mate, number one. And number two, I did put her in charge [of voting rights]. I think she’s doing a good job,” he added.

President Biden was asked about comments from Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell that the midterm elections are going to be a report card on Biden’s progress on inflation, border security and standing up to Russia. 

“I think the report card is going to look pretty good,” Biden responded.

Biden continued: “I actually like Mitch Mcconnell. We like one another but he has one straightforward objective. Make sure that there’s nothing I do that makes me look good … with the public at large.” 

Biden said he’s a “big boy” and he’s “happy to debate and have a referendum on how I handled the economy” and whether he’s made “progress.” 

President Biden said that in order to get his Build Back Better agenda passed, he will have to “break it up” and get as much of it through as possible and “come back and fight for the rest later.” 

“It’s clear to me that we’re gonna have to probably break it up,” Biden acknowledged for the first time since the bill stalled to a halt in December.

Biden said it’s “clear” he would be able to get support on several issues in the bill, including the $500 billion dollars for energy and environmental issues.

Biden also said he knew that there are things in the bill that Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema support, including early education and “strong support for the number in which to pay for this proposal.”

“Get as much as we can now,” Biden said.

President Biden predicted a Russian invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, citing existential concerns by the country’s President Vladimir Putin, even as he warned of significant economic consequences when such an incursion occurs. 

But he suggested a “minor incursion” would elicit a lesser response than a full-scale invasion of the country.

Biden’s prediction of an invasion is the firmest acknowledgment to date the United States fully expects Putin to move after amassing 100,000 troops along the Ukraine border.

After speaking with Putin twice last month, Biden said he believed his Russian counterpart had a good understanding of the economic sanctions he was preparing to enact.

“He’s never seen sanctions like the ones I promised will be imposed if he moves, number one,” he said, adding the level of punishment would depend on what Russia’s invasion looks like: “It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.”

President Biden conceded Wednesday that he did not reach out to moderate Republicans in his pursuit of passing voting rights legislation.

Biden was asked specifically about Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney’s recent remarks, slamming the White House for keeping Republicans out of discussions over election reform.

“The fact is that I do think that Mitt is a serious guy,” Biden said. “I think we can get things done. I predict that we’ll get something done on the electoral reform side of this.”

He continued: “But rather judge what we’ll get done and not get done, all I can say is I’ll continue to make the case why it’s so important to not turn electoral process over to political persons set up to change the outcome of elections.”

President Biden acknowledged Americans are struggling with the high cost of living and threw his weight behind the Federal Reserve’s efforts to fight inflation 

“We need to get inflation under control,” Biden said during his opening remarks Wednesday. 

Biden pointed out that price stability is the responsibility of the Fed.

“The critical job of making sure elevated prices don’t become entrenched rests with the Federal Reserve, which has a dual mandate: full employment and stable prices,” Biden said. 

Biden noted that Americans are seeing rapid price increases at grocery stores, at the gas pumps and elsewhere.  

“Given the strength of our economy and pace of recent price increases, it’s appropriate…as Fed Chairman Powell has indicated, to recalibrate the support that is now necessary.”

Biden added that he respects the independence of the Fed.

Biden also detailed his administration’s efforts to fight inflation, including by unclogging supply chains and cracking down on unfair market competition. 

President Biden was asked during his news conference about schools closing around the country during the latest wave of Covid-19, driven by the Omicron variant. He said, “very few schools are closing.” 

Biden then listed off a number of items that his administration has done to try to make sure that schools are safe. 

He said that there are billions of dollars being made available by the government for schools, including $10 billion for testing of students in the schools. 

“So I think, as time goes on, it’s much more likely you’ll see that number go back up from 95%, back up to 98%, 99%” of schools open, Biden said.

President Biden says he believes “big chunks” of his sweeping social and climate spending plan will be made into law — a tacit acknowledgement the entirety of his Build Back Better plan is unlikely to be approved in Congress.

“I’m confident we can get pieces, big chunks of the Build Back Better law signed into law,” Biden said at a news conference at the White House.

He said items included in the bill, currently stalled amid united Republican opposition and key Democratic holdouts, were popular among the American people.

He cited lower costs on prescription drugs, expanded education funding and support for child care as popular provisions.

“I don’t know many things that have been done in one fell swoop. And so I think the most important thing to do is try to inform, not educate, inform the public what’s at stake in stark terms and let them make judgments and let them know who is for them and who is against them. Who is there and who is not there and make that the case. That’s what I’m going to be spending my time doing in this off-year election,” Biden said.

President Biden said that he doesn’t plan on scaling back on the main priorities on his agenda despite facing challenges in passing the Build Back Better Act and stalled efforts on voting rights.

When pressed about what he can accomplish ahead of the midterm elections, Biden said that has confidence that his administration will be able to sign into law “good chunks” of his agenda.

“I’m confident we can get pieces, big chunks of the Build Back Better law signed into law and I’m confident that we can take the case to the American people that the people they should be voting for, who are going to oversee whether your elections are, in fact, legit or not should not be those who are being put up by the Republicans to determine that they’re going to be able to change the outcome of the election… By the way, I haven’t given up. We haven’t finished the vote yet on what’s going on, on the, on voting rights,” Biden said.

President Biden has been asked multiple questions about the Democrats’ push to advance voting rights legislation as the party faces an uphill battle to pass the bills in Congress.

Asked if he thinks the upcoming elections will be fairly conducted and legitimate if voting rights legislation doesn’t pass, Biden said “it all depends on whether or not we’re able to make a case to the American people that some of this is being set up to try to alter the outcome of the election.”

Where things stand on voting rights in Congress: Senate Republicans are expected to once again block a voting bill put forward by Democrats in the latest partisan showdown over voting rights, an issue Democrats are seeking to spotlight despite the fact that they lack the votes to pass the legislation.

The Senate is on track to hold a vote this evening to attempt to break a GOP filibuster on the legislation, which combines key provisions of two bills: the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

At least 10 Republicans would need to vote with Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster, which is not expected to happen amid widespread Republican opposition to the voting legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that if Republicans block the bill, he will hold a vote to change Senate rules to allow for a “talking filibuster” on the voting legislation.

The proposed rules change would force lawmakers who want to filibuster the bill to come to the Senate floor and speak in opposition. Once those speeches come to an end, the Senate would be able to hold a simple majority vote for final passage.

A vote to change the rules has not yet been scheduled but could happen as soon as late Wednesday evening.

But Democrats do not have the votes to change Senate filibuster rules either with moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona expected to oppose such a move.

Manchin has said he will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster and Sinema has defended the 60-vote threshold. Both senators have argued the filibuster helps bring about bipartisan compromise in the Senate.

Read more here.