(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is expected to outline the accomplishments of his four years in the White House during a farewell address to the nation Wednesday night.
The reported ceasefire announced between Israel and Hamas will most likely change the tenor of the prime-time address, on which White House officials said Biden will work until the last minute to finalize.
The speech was originally set to reflect on Biden’s presidency as well as the moment in which the country finds itself as President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week. White House officials said the address will not include “a laundry list” of Biden’s accomplishments as president but rather an overview of the time since Biden took office in 2021.
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In a letter released Wednesday morning, Biden said the country has the strongest economy in the world after his administration created a record 16.6 million jobs. He also said inflation continues to come down while the racial cap is the lowest it has been in 20 years.
“I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake,” Biden wrote. “The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case.”
Biden called serving the U.S. for more than 50 years the “privilege of my life” and wrote he has “been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people.”
“History is in your hands,” Biden wrote. “The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.”
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Biden is also expected to address his future plans and those of the Democratic Party, which lost control of the U.S. Senate as well as the White House in November. The Republicans also maintain control of the U.S. House as Trump begins his second term as president.
Biden is considering taking additional actions as president before Trump assumes control of the White House on Monday. Biden, who commuted about 1,500 sentences in December, is said to be considering more pardons and executive orders, which could be difficult for Trump to undo once he takes office.
Biden issued 39 presidential pardons to Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes; several were issued to people who have already been released from prison. Among the pardons issued was one for Biden’s son, Hunter, who the president previously said he would not pardon.
