After a much-criticized and inconclusive first debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and subsequent calls from prominent Democrats to abandon his bid for a second term, US President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he will no longer be running for reelection in the 2024 presidential election.
"While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," Biden said in a statement. "I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision."
Although he won't be seeking reelection, Biden will likely use the months he has left in office through the election on Nov. 5 and before the inauguration of the next president on Jan. 20, 2025, to push through any tech- and finance-related policies remaining on his agenda.
During his last months as president, Biden is likely to continue his efforts to cancel student debt, but relief will probably be held up by the courts. Other executive efforts have been similarly challenged by judges. Biden has also been focused on bringing an end to junk fees in the travel, entertainment and banking industries during his presidency.
One of Biden's major tech efforts over the past several years has been to ban TikTok in the US. After signing the ban in April 2024, it's unlikely he'll backtrack on the policy.
Beyond Biden's direct efforts, since his inauguration in January 2021 his administration oversaw massive amounts of congressionally approved funding flow out to US businesses, local and state governments and citizens to recover from the pandemic and to expand US infrastructure. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 sent money back to Americans, including a combined $90 billion for improving broadband internet nationwide.
During his tenure, regulatory arms of the government continued advocating for consumers' tech needs. The Federal Communications Commission restored net neutrality as a policy, quadrupled the broadband speed baseline that internet service providers must offer to customers and began requiring broadband "nutrition labels" to make internet plans easier to understand. The Federal Trade Commission cracked down on robocalls and led a 17-state lawsuit against Amazon alleging an anti-competitive monopoly.
The CEOs of social media giants Twitter, Facebook and Google were also questioned in congressional hearings during the Biden administration about misinformation about the COVID pandemic and about the 2020 presidential election. A crackdown on the safety of children in the age of social media was also an emphasis during Biden's presidency.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaking on July 13 during a campaign event.
After announcing he would not run for reelection, Biden also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, but some other potential candidates include front-runners who competed against Biden and Harris in the primaries preceding the 2020 election.
Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have not indicated whether they would run, but both were prominent Democrats aiming for the nomination four years ago, as well as Pete Buttigieg, now secretary of transportation in the Biden administration. In her campaign during the last election cycle, Warren called for the breakup of Big Tech companies, with Sanders making similar statements about monopolistic tech companies.
But in 2024, other prominent Democrats include California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has pushed statewide policies like gun control, publicly criticized right-wing governors of other states and launched a fundraising political action committee to counter GOP governors and leaders, according to The Hill. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is another rising star in the party, though he may be more in consideration for a vice presidential pick, according to Lexington news station WKYT.
More on how things will shape up for the next Democratic presidential candidate, as well as the party's platform, will be revealed in the runup to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22. That is when Biden's replacement on the Democratic ticket is expected to be formally selected.