Coons: Joe Biden is a true Delawarean and the most consequential president of my lifetime

President Joe Biden is a Delawarean through and through.

Joe is one of the most grounded people I know — grounded in his faith, his family, and yes, our state. At the best moments and the hardest times in his life, he has been at home in Delaware, drawing strength and encouragement from the people who have known him, loved him and shaped him over decades. His values of hard work, commitment to family and a belief in working across the aisle are rooted in the way Delawareans respect and know each other.

Many of us were surprised and saddened this past weekend when Joe announced from his Rehoboth Beach home that he would not stand for re-election in November. For so many Delawareans, Joe has been fighting for us in public office for nearly our entire lives. Now, when his term as President of the United States concludes in January, that chapter will end.

Joe Biden is forever linked to Delaware

It's a chapter that could only be written in Delaware. Part of him will always be the kid with a stutter who grew up in Claymont and graduated from Archmere and the University of Delaware. He learned from his dad’s work selling cars in Wilmington that a job isn’t just a paycheck, but a chance at dignity and self-respect. Worshipping at St. Joseph on the Brandywine has grounded him in his Catholic faith and encouraged him to put Christian teachings of fighting for justice, feeding the hungry and caring for the widow and orphan at the core of his career.

After working as a public defender in Wilmington and serving on the New Castle County Council, Joe became a distinguished U.S. Senator, chairing the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees. He crafted some of the most important legislation of the last 50 years: the Violence Against Women Act and the 1994 assault weapons ban that preceded the lowest 10-year average in mass shooting rates in our history. After coming home on the train every day to take care of his young children, he understood better than anyone the importance of reliable rail and worked tirelessly for increased Amtrak funding.

As vice president, he helped Barack Obama rebuild the nation following the Great Recession, when America’s middle class was flat on its back, and he was instrumental in the rescue of the American auto industry. He shepherded the Affordable Care Act through Congress — a big deal that has helped tens of millions of Americans gain quality, affordable health coverage.

All of this culminated in Joe’s historic presidency. In one term, he has become the most consequential president of my lifetime. When he took office, our nation faced three great crises: a public health crisis sparked by the mishandling of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic; the crippling economic crisis that resulted; and a crisis of democracy sparked by Trump’s attempt to interfere in the peaceful transition of power through the January 6th attack on the Capitol that he incited.

Through Biden’s leadership, we have overcome these challenges. Thanks to his administration’s widespread distribution of vaccines, testing and medications, COVID-19 is now no more dangerous than the flu. Our economy is roaring, with the longest period of low unemployment in my lifetime, wages for working families increasing, and a tripling of investments in manufacturing construction that will create countless new good-paying jobs. As president, Joe put his faith in democracy and Americans proved him right. They rejected anti-democracy candidates at the ballot box in 2022 and will do it once more in November when we defeat Donald Trump again.

Our view: Thank you, President Biden, for your service to our nation

Joe Biden's commitment to civility should be a lesson

In his inaugural address, Joe urged us all to see members of the opposite party as political opponents but not as enemies. Time and again, he has passed major legislation with bipartisan majorities, funding generational investments in our nation’s roads and bridges and the largest increase in funding for veterans’ health care in decades. He even achieved bipartisan successes on hot button issues that many thought were impossible, passing the largest gun violence prevention and mental health bill since his own assault weapons ban 30 years ago.

Joe has rebuilt our nation’s standing in the world and strengthened our alliances. He showed the world what it looks like to stand up for democracy and oppose tyranny by coming to the defense of Ukraine against Russia’s brutal war of aggression. He will leave office with NATO not only stronger but larger than ever, thanks to the addition of Sweden and Finland.

Lastly, Joe has lived the value of country before self. His decision to end his campaign for president this year will ensure that his trusted Vice President, Kamala Harris, will continue his legacy. It has been a great presidency from a good man, and it’s not done yet. Joe still has six more months in the Oval Office and so much more left he wants to do.

This week, he welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington to continue efforts on a lasting cease-fire that ends the fighting in Gaza and frees the more than 100 hostages held by Hamas, as well as a regional peace agreement that guarantees security for Israel and a path forward for the Palestinian people. He will advance the Biden Cancer Moonshot that was inspired by the loss of his beloved son Beau. He will bring down costs for middle class Americans further by working to make the cost of housing, energy and prescription drugs more affordable. Most importantly, he will continue turning his landmark legislation into tangible accomplishments, breaking ground on new roads, cutting ribbons at new manufacturing plants and flipping the switch on new clean energy projects.

It will be a full six months, and at the end of it, Delaware families will be safer, more secure in their standing, and have a better shot at getting ahead. It’s a fitting final paragraph of a monumental career in public service.

Sen. Chris Coons has represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate since 2010.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Coons: Joe Biden is a true Delawarean and the most consequential president of my lifetime