US President Joe Biden Completes 1 Year In Office; Asserts “Enormous Progress” Made

Washington: A defiant US President Joe Biden acknowledged missteps over the still-raging pandemic Wednesday but hailed a year of “enormous progress” on the US economy as he took stock of his first year in office.

In a rare news conference marking his first 12 months, Biden touted a period of unprecedented job creation, infrastructure improvements and a growing economy that he said would help counter inflation and supply chain woes plaguing his presidency.

“It’s been a year of challenges,” Biden told reporters in the ornate East Room of the White House, saying he “didn’t anticipate” the level of obstruction he has encountered from Republicans in Congress.

Biden has held just six solo news conferences during his first year in office. The ongoing threat from the coronavirus will be evident in the very setup of Wednesday’s gathering: A limited number of reporters will be allowed to attend, and all will have to be tested for the virus and wear masks.

“It’s been a year of challenges,” Biden told reporters in the ornate East Room of the White House, saying he “didn’t anticipate” the level of obstruction he has encountered from Republicans in Congress.

“But it has also been a year of enormous progress,” the US leader said.

“We went from two million people being vaccinated at the moment I was sworn in to 210 million Americans being fully vaccinated today. We created six million new jobs — more jobs in one year than any time before.”

Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki said he has made “a lot of progress” in “incredibly difficult circumstances, fighting a pandemic, a massive economic downturn.”

The White House points out that in the last year, unemployment fell to 3.9 percent from 6.4 percent at the height of pandemic fallout on the economy and that mass vaccination has been a success, with 74 percent of adults now fully vaccinated.