What Does the Future Hold for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris?

Photo: Mark Schiefelbein Associated Press President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will find themselves without jobs on January 20, the day Donald Trump is inaugurated, and the Democratic Party without a clear leader.

Benoit Valois-Nadeau

Published at 0:00

• United States

This text is a response to questions sent by our readers to the American Election Mail team. To subscribe, click here.

What will happen to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris [and the other important Democratic elected officials] after the transfer of power in January? ? They are not in opposition like in Quebec. Are they unemployed or are they in the American civil service? ? Do the outgoing elected officials benefit from their salaries and protections for a certain time after the transfer? ?

— France Bourassa, one of our readers

In modern American politics, a loss in the race for the White House usually means the end of a political career.

The exception that proves the rule ? Donald Trump, who, by winning the November 5 election, became the first person to win two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892.

Before Mr. Trump, we have to go back to Richard Nixon (defeated in 1960 by Kennedy, but elected in 1968) to see the loser of an election being chosen again by his party to represent its colors in a subsequent election.

Given the magnitude of Kamala Harris’s defeat, it would be It's surprising to see her retain the leadership of the Democratic Party, says Graham Dodds, a professor of political science at Concordia University.

“If you look at the last few losing Democratic candidates, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, they've all disappeared from the scene. The same thing is probably in store for Kamala Harris.”

“No Clear Leader”

In the Canadian political system, the prime minister sits in the House, but in the United States, the president is not a member of the parliamentary branch. President Biden and Vice President Harris will find themselves without jobs on January 20, the day Donald Trump is inaugurated, and the Democratic Party will be without a clear leader.

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“It's a problem with the American political system: there is no leader of the official opposition. “When your party loses, you lose your leader,” says Graham Dodds.

The Democrats’ defeats in the Senate and, potentially, the House of Representatives races will only deepen the lack of clear leadership in the donkey party.

“There is no clear leader in the Democratic camp right now,” argues Graham Dodds. “It will take a few years before we see new faces emerge, perhaps at the state level, where governors like Gavin Newsom [California] or Gretchen Witmer [Michigan] could stand up to Trump.”

In the meantime, Joe Biden will continue to serve as president until Donald Trump is inaugurated. Presidents in his position are sometimes called “lame ducks” because their legitimacy, and therefore their powers, are diminished.

Despite this, Mr. Biden will continue to oversee the day-to-day running of the country's affairs and may attempt to consolidate his political legacy by pushing through certain projects through presidential decrees. The chances that his successor will reverse them are high, however.

The money of power… and according to

The annual salary of the American president—paid by the Treasury, as for all federal employees—is $400,000, as decreed by Congress in 2001. The president is also entitled to an expense allowance of $50,000 “to assist him in defraying expenses incident to or arising out of the exercise of his official duties,” $19,000 for entertainment expenses, and $100,000 for travel expenses.

He also enjoys free housing (the White House) for himself and his family during his term and free transportation on the presidential limousine and the Air Force One.

For the record, several particularly wealthy presidents have chosen to forgo any remuneration, donating their salary to the State or to charities. This is the case for Donald Trump, John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover.

The vice-president's salary is periodically indexed to the cost of living. It currently stands at $284,600.

Mr. Biden and Harris will receive their salaries until their last day in office.

Since 1958, with the passage of the Former Presidents Act, former presidents have been entitled to a lifetime pension from the federal government. It currently stands at $246,424, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. The outgoing president may also select a number of employees who have served in his administration to receive a lifetime pension, worth up to $96,000 per year.

Former presidents are also entitled to Secret Service protection for the remainder of their lives, to an office paid for and furnished by the General Services Administration at a location of their choice anywhere in the United States, and to a travel allowance of $1 million annually.

The vice president, who presides over the Senate, is also entitled to a pension on the same basis as former members of Congress.

Tradition dictates that former presidents renounce all elected office. The last one to try his luck was ? Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s successor, elected to the Senate in… 1875.

Among other presidents who continued to pad their resumes after leaving the White House, the most notable is William Taft, who, uniquely in history, served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after his only presidential term.

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