In his final days in office, Joe Biden has unleashed a flurry of decisions that seem less about governance and more about tossing political grenades into the path of the incoming Trump administration. From extending controversial immigration policies to auctioning off unused border wall materials, Biden appears determined to complicate Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in the Oval Office. Trump, never one to shy away from calling out his opponents, labeled these moves as deliberate roadblocks designed to slow down his agenda.
One of Biden’s most polarizing parting shots was his sweeping ban on offshore oil and gas drilling across 625 million acres of U.S. coastal waters. Described by Biden as a win for environmental policy, the move was blasted by Trump and his supporters as a direct assault on energy independence. Critics argue that this action prioritizes virtue-signaling environmentalism over practical economic solutions, stifling domestic energy production and killing jobs in the process. Trump vowed to overturn the ban immediately, pointing out that the restricted area is larger than the Louisiana Purchase—hardly a minor footnote in U.S. energy policy.
Immigration policy also got the Biden touch, with an eleventh-hour extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 900,000 individuals, many of them Venezuelans. While Biden framed this as a humanitarian measure, critics view it as a preemptive strike against Trump’s tougher stance on illegal immigration. To add insult to injury, the Biden administration was caught quietly trying to auction off leftover border wall materials—a move stopped in its tracks by a court order secured by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The border crisis, already a contentious issue, is now even more chaotic thanks to Biden’s last-minute actions.
Foreign policy wasn’t spared from Biden’s farewell flurry. The president approved a $500 million aid package to Ukraine, including advanced weaponry, and transferred 11 Yemeni detainees to Oman. Perhaps most controversially, he removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that even members of his own party criticized as politically tone-deaf. A Florida Democrat slammed the decision as a major misstep, calling it a gift-wrapped loss for Democrats in a state where they’re already struggling. Critics argue these actions reflect a president more focused on leaving a progressive legacy than advancing national interests.
Domestically, Biden’s efforts included forgiving over $183 billion in student loan debt, even after the Supreme Court struck down similar relief measures in 2023. While his administration touted this as a landmark achievement, detractors see it as fiscal irresponsibility aimed at currying favor with progressives. Meanwhile, Biden’s Social Security Administration announced that federal employees could continue teleworking until 2029, further locking in the work-from-home policies implemented during the pandemic. Trump has already vowed to challenge this policy in court, pledging to bring federal employees back to the office—or let them go.
As Biden prepares to leave the White House, his parting moves have drawn praise from the left but left conservatives fuming. For Trump, the transition is shaping up to be anything but smooth, as he faces the task of unraveling a series of policies designed to entrench progressive priorities and tie his hands. Whether Biden’s last-minute maneuvers leave a lasting mark or are swiftly overturned remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the stage is set for a contentious and fiery start to Trump’s second term.
