Joe, Jill, and the Bidens: Who Are America’s New First Family? | US News

JBiden’s victory in the US presidential election means that a new “first family” will enter the White House, and will include a mix of figures who are already household names or social media stars, as well as relatives to whom they like to keep a low profile.

Besides Biden himself, the person most involved in the president-elect’s political career is his wife, Jill Biden, an educator and “military mom.” The couple have been married since 1977.

Jill is expected to break with tradition and keep her day job as a teacher, while also immersing herself in education policy. That’s an unusual move, even for a first lady with four degrees.

“For American educators, this is a great day for all of you,” Biden said in his victory speech Saturday. You’re going to have one of your own at the White House. And Jill will be a great first lady. I’m very proud of her.”

When it comes to public figures, Jill, 59, has kept a relatively low profile considering her spouse was a United States senator for nearly four decades and spent two terms as vice president under Barack Obama. The couple lived three miles from the White House at the Naval Observatory in Washington DC, the same mansion that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband are expected to move into.

During the Obama administration, Jill, then the second lady, joined Michelle Obama, traveling together and working on her Joining Forces military families project. Jill continued to teach at Northern Virginia Community College during the Obama years, and has spoken about how she asked her Secret Service detail to dress like students and bring laptops to integrate.

During the 2020 election campaign, Jill Biden has played an integral role in some of her husband’s biggest decisions, including finding a running mate.

Jill also delivered a speech in support of her husband at this year’s Democratic national convention, acted as a campaign surrogate, participated in the educational task force for Biden’s campaign, and helped develop policy proposals.

Together, the Bidens have a daughter, Ashley Biden, 39, a philanthropist and social worker who also prefers to stay out of the limelight. Ashley Biden’s husband, Howard Kerin, has come under national scrutiny for his venture capital business and for advising the campaign on coronavirus policy.

The Biden family is no stranger to tragedy. Through his first marriage to Neilia Hunter, Biden had three children: Hunter, Beau, and Naomi. Naomi and Neilia died in a car accident in 1972, days after he was elected to the United States Senate. Beau Biden, a former Delaware attorney general and a rising star within the Democratic Party, died of a brain tumor in 2015.

Biden’s youngest son Hunter has been the preferred target of Donald Trump and his Republican allies in trying to frame Biden and the Democrats as “corrupt” and in secret alliances with China for personal gain.

In the first presidential debate in September, Trump mocked Hunter Biden for his fight against drug addiction, which was seen as a bad move.

Trump and his campaign have also repeatedly argued, without concrete evidence, that Hunter Biden, 50, took advantage of his father’s position as vice president for monetary gain.

In October, the laptops and text messages allegedly from Hunter Biden turned up under strange circumstances. Republicans used that material to argue that their allegations of corrupt dealings between the Bidens were true. But serious media inquiries dismissed those claims.

Hunter has had very little public involvement in his father’s campaign, aside from recording a video expressing his support that was featured at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

Several of Biden’s grandchildren, who call him “Pop,” also appeared in a recorded clip played on the DNC, describing him as loving and joking about how he calls them every day to check-in.

Biden’s granddaughter Naomi Biden, a 26-year-old graduate of Columbia Law School, has a huge following online and has posted multiple photos of the president-elect in recent days. In an August tweet, he joked that anyone “who wants to get to @Joe BidenHe will have to pass us first ”, with a photo of his grandchildren.

The couple also have two German Shepherds, Champ and Major, who will presumably be moving into the White House with them.

In nearly five decades in politics, Biden has maintained an inner circle of about eight key advisers and family members. That is unlikely to change as president.

“Joe has always had a relatively small circle,” Bill Daley, Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, told The Guardian. As examples, Daley singled out longtime advisers: Valerie Biden Owens (Biden’s younger sister), Tom Donilon (who worked on Biden’s bid for the presidency in 1988 and was a national security adviser during the Obama-Biden administration. ), Steve Ricchetti (former Biden chief of staff). ), Bruce Reed (another former chief of staff), Ted Kaufman (former Delaware senator and longtime adviser to Biden), and Ron Klain (another former chief of staff).

“I think part of this is that you come from a smaller state. There’s a smaller group of people that you’re with, ”Daley said.

Valerie Biden Owens has been a mainstay of her brother’s political life for most of his years in office. She was a top aide for most of Biden’s campaigns, serving as a campaign manager in both of his previous presidential campaigns. This year, he has largely maintained a behind-the-scenes role, but influential nonetheless.

In a rare interview with the Associated Press in August, he contrasted Biden’s life story with Trump’s.

“Everything that is Donald Trump, my brother is the polar opposite. I don’t have to make it bigger than it is, ”Valerie Biden Owens said when asked if her brother understood the gravity of this moment in time.

“He’s good enough as he is, and he’s prepared and I think right now he’s uniquely qualified to lead… All of this has come together. My brother appreciates it. He can feel it. “