The country had been waiting for a stable and less volatile political state ever since former President Trump left office, but that has not been the case entirely in Biden’s first year in office. There have been some breakthroughs where previously there was no progress, but there also have been worst-off cases in some scenarios, some at the administration’s own hand while others were consequences that did not go according to plan.
Two of the worst decisions or rounds of decisions leading to consequences in Biden’s first year were the handling of coronavirus in the last quarter of the year and the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Both the scenarios have caused the country enormous health, as well as international goodwill cost.
The Afghanistan withdrawal was chaotic, to say the least, but accounting for its worse end, deadly for so many. It left the entire country under the hold of the Taliban, severing ties with so many allies, on top of the hundreds of lives U.S. troops lost during the decade-long war. On top of that, the current handling of the pandemic while in its uncountable wave, with its newest variant Omicron on the surge, has been less than favorable or sound.
Another huge loss that the admin did not contribute towards in itself but was dealt with was the loss of the original $1.75 trillion Build Back Better act. The exclusive economic act was meant to address many key issues that the Biden campaign pushed: pre-election, including paid time off for caregiving employees, climate justice, child tax credit, universal pre-K, affordable housing, an expansion of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.
Meanwhile, there also have been some wins and highs in Biden’s first year in the oval office. The vaccination drive and campaigning done by the Biden admin, albeit not at its very best, ended up getting 200 million citizens vaccinated against the worst effects and symptoms of the pandemic. Despite the administration facing several blows regarding their vaccine mandates, the mark they ended up hitting is still a huge milestone considering many other countries.
Though this would really matter which side of the political bar you are on, the pausing of student loans debts was a huge relief for hundreds and thousands of people amidst the highly intense financial year. The Biden administration, along with several delegates from the country attended the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, which included hundreds of people from throughout the world, coming together to decide how nations can work together to deflect the climate crisis.
Lastly, the admin was also able to roll out the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package within Biden’s first year that helped families throughout the country.
