President Biden may not be on the ballot next week, but his legacy is riding on the outcome of the election.
A loss for Vice President Kamala Harris would prompt immediate questions over whether Mr. Biden stayed in the race too long, Democrats privately acknowledge. But it is also likely to doom many of Mr. Biden’s legislative achievements, including in clean energy, health insurance and foreign policy.
Former President Donald J. Trump has said that if re-elected, he would gut Mr. Biden’s signature clean energy bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected to pour $1.2 trillion over the next decade into technologies to fight climate change. He has scoffed at Mr. Biden’s efforts to prioritize racial equity when implementing policy. He has said he would allow Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies, while Mr. Biden’s aides say that rallying the Atlantic alliance to back Ukraine against the Russian invasion is one of his proudest accomplishments. Mr. Trump also recently criticized a bipartisan law that invests in semiconductor manufacturing as “so bad.”
“Donald Trump would absolutely eviscerate it,” Liz Shuler, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., said of Mr. Biden’s agenda. “These investments are under threat.”
The White House has appeared to take Mr. Trump at his word, and officials are taking action to shore up Mr. Biden’s accomplishments. Last month, Mr. Biden authorized the release of billions in aid to Ukraine, much of which was set to expire, to extend U.S. support for Kyiv if Mr. Trump wins. Mr. Trump has criticized such military and financial assistance and has argued that Ukraine should have cut a deal and made concessions to Russia.
