Joe Biden

Force in Play

Approved major disaster declaration and 100% federal cost coverage

On January 7, 2025, two wildfires exploded across Los Angeles County with unprecedented speed. The Palisades Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains and the Eaton Fire in Altadena spread at the rate of three football fields per minute, driven by Santa Ana winds gusting to 100 mph. Within hours, 200,000 people fled their homes. The fires killed at least 31 people directly, with researchers estimating 440 total deaths including those from heart and lung conditions aggravated by smoke and stress. By the time containment came 24 days later, 16,000 structures were destroyed and $150 billion in losses tallied—making it the costliest disaster in U.S. history.

Updated Feb 5

Force in Play

Claimed credit for crime decline through federal investment

America's murder rate plunged to its lowest level since 1900 in 2025, as homicides fell 21%—the largest single-year drop ever recorded, according to Council on Criminal Justice data from 35 major cities. This followed 2024's historic 14.9% decline, creating an unprecedented two-year reversal. The 2025 rate—projected at 4 per 100,000 when FBI releases nationwide data—represents a complete reversal of the 2020 pandemic spike and brings murder 25% below pre-pandemic levels. Denver saw homicides drop 41%, followed by Washington DC and Omaha at 40%. Experts attribute the decline to reduced alcohol consumption, the slowing opioid epidemic, and community violence intervention programs funded through Biden's American Rescue Plan.

Updated Jan 29

Built World

Signed IIJA into law; left office with 47% of funds obligated, 21% spent

China just front-loaded $42 billion in infrastructure spending for early 2026—281 projects approved before the calendar even flipped. New airports, cross-sea ferries, reservoirs, and power grids are breaking ground now. Meanwhile, the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed with $1.2 trillion in 2021, has spent just 21% of its funds as of December 2024. The law expires September 2026, and Trump's May 2025 budget proposal seeks to cancel $15.2 billion in unobligated IIJA funding for renewable energy and clean tech. China builds 50,000 kilometers of high-speed rail in 17 years. America debates one line in California.

Updated Jan 11

Rule Changes

Architect of the Inflation Reduction Act’s higher royalties and limited offshore leasing

Donald Trump's second-term energy agenda has moved from a single Gulf auction to a full-scale offshore transformation. The December 10 Gulf lease sale—81.2 million acres at a 12.5% royalty rate, generating $279.4 million—was just the opening move. By year's end, the administration had proposed a sweeping 2026-2031 leasing plan covering 1.27 billion acres off California, Florida and Alaska, scheduled a second Gulf sale for March 11, 2026, and simultaneously halted all five major East Coast offshore wind projects, claiming national security risks. A major Shell-INEOS oil discovery south of New Orleans in early January underscored the industry bet on deepwater Gulf prospects.

Updated Jan 8

Rule Changes

Rescinded Trump travel bans on first day in office, reversed in second Trump term

Trump signed his first travel ban seven days into his presidency, blocking entry from seven Muslim-majority countries and igniting protests at airports nationwide. Courts blocked it within a week. Eight years later, after Supreme Court victories, a Biden reversal, and a return to power, Trump's December 2025 expansion restricts entry from 39 countries—affecting one in eight people worldwide and eliminating exemptions that previously protected immediate family members of U.S. citizens.

Updated Dec 28, 2025

Rule Changes

Architect of the SAVE plan and broader student debt relief push now under sustained legal attack.

Joe Biden sold the SAVE plan as a fix for a broken student loan system: smaller payments, faster forgiveness, and protection from ballooning interest for millions. Eighteen months, two Supreme Court losses, and a barrage of lawsuits later, Donald Trump’s Education Department has cut a deal with Missouri and other Republican-led states to kill SAVE and shove its 7‑plus million borrowers into more expensive plans.

Updated Dec 11, 2025