President Biden leaving Trump shocking mess to clean up - media

US President Joe Biden is leaving a significant set of challenges for Donald Trump to address when he takes office on January 20.

The United States is facing a multitude of problems, including a skyrocketing $36 trillion federal debt—an increase of $13 trillion since 2020, much of which has been financed through short-term borrowing, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

Inflation continues to persist despite falling energy prices, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been dangerously depleted. Additionally, the country's military stockpiles are alarmingly low, and the Department of Justice has lost public trust. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been squandered on failing ventures, such as Intel, and the education system is increasingly teaching young people to dislike their country while failing to equip them with basic literacy skills. The country is also grappling with a housing crisis, a slowdown in manufacturing, and a slew of other economic and social challenges.

Biden also leaves Trump with the daunting task of extricating the US from its involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia, while also needing to restore stability in the Middle East. Trump is preparing to take swift action to address these complex issues.

Instead of attempting to resolve some of the damage he has caused, Biden seems determined to leave a worse legacy. In his final weeks, Biden and his team are hastily attempting to spend the remaining funds allocated under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which granted the White House $375 billion to distribute at its discretion.

The administration, which lacks private-sector experience, has struggled to manage these funds effectively. For instance, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spent $7.5 billion to build just eight electric vehicle charging stations, far below his initial promise of 500,000, and Vice President Kamala Harris failed to roll out broadband access to rural areas despite having $42 billion at her disposal.

As the Biden administration rushes to allocate the remaining IRA funds, a recently released video from Project Veritas reveals an EPA adviser admitting that they are moving money out as quickly as possible to prevent the incoming Trump administration from halting these projects. The adviser, Brent Efron, explained that, given the uncertainty of a Trump victory, the department expedited funding to tribes, nonprofits, and states.

Biden has also struck a deal with the American Federation of Government Employees to protect 42,000 workers at the Social Security Administration from having to return to the office, a decision likely to complicate Trump’s planned reforms of the federal workforce.

On the energy front, Biden could have moved to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which he drained in 2022 during a period of soaring inflation to help lower gas prices for the midterms. The reserve, once holding 638 million barrels of oil, now sits at a 40-year low of 392 million barrels. While it has increased by 12 per cent in the past year, the US remains vulnerable to future price shocks.

Additionally, Biden has left a financial mess in the Treasury. Instead of issuing long-term bonds to finance the $1.8 trillion deficit, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen opted to rely heavily on short-term Treasury bills, a strategy likely to lead to higher borrowing costs in the future. The volume of short-term debt has surged from 15 per cent in 2023 to an estimated 30 per cent, creating substantial refinancing risks for the incoming administration.

Biden's policies have also contributed to a variety of other issues, including Detroit automakers facing huge losses due to electric vehicle mandates, an ongoing migrant crisis, rising violent crime due to weakened law enforcement, and warnings from military leaders about diminishing weapon stockpiles. All of these problems are likely to confront the Trump administration as it assumes office.

Rather than attempting to mitigate the damage caused by his administration, Biden seems to be focused on making matters worse in his final weeks, leaving Trump with a formidable set of challenges to address.

By Vafa Guliyeva