Biden Planning Post-White House Partnerships With Universities.
The soon-to-be former vice president reportedly has plans for separate endeavors focusing on foreign and domestic policy.
Vice President Joe Biden is firming up his plans for after he leaves office on Jan. 20, with arrangements reportedly in the works to partner with two major universities.
Biden is said to be planning an as-yet-unannounced economic- and domestic policy-focused partnership with the University of Delaware, his alma mater, according to an aide who spoke to The Associated Press. According to a 2015 Yahoo News report, university officials had pitched the vice president on opening a post-White House "Biden Center" back in 2012.
Biden additionally plans an affiliation with the University of Pennsylvania centered on foreign policy and global initiatives, his aide said.
The vice president – who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and represented Delaware for more than three decades in the Senate before he was tapped to serve as then-Sen. Barack Obama's running mate – has developed a reputation as a statesman and well-respected diplomat with deep relationships around the globe.
The outgoing VP was tasked with handling some of the toughest foreign policy challenges of the past eight years, serving as an envoy of the Obama administration to Iraq and Ukraine. Earlier this year, Obama also handed Biden the keys to a "cancer moonshot" initiative following the death of his son, Beau.
In October, when many thought Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was ready to coast to victory in the presidential race, Biden was floated as a candidate for her secretary of state. His gifts as a retail politician were considered a key asset throughout the past three presidential campaigns: He spent two on the ticket as Obama's running mate and more recently was a top surrogate for Clinton.
Biden was considering running for president himself for a third time in 2016 – a plagiarism scandal derailed his 1988 bid and he ran in the 2008 race before dropping out and eventually accepting a place on the ticket with Obama – but ultimately decided against it.
He recently left the door open to running again in 2020, a year when he would turn 78.
