Joe Biden Has Been Pretty Busy This Month

When he traveled to D.C. on Wednesday to celebrate the seven-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Joe Biden the human had the pleasure of meeting Joe Biden the dog: an adorable Labrador pup who waited for hours at the Capitol to catch a glimpse of his hero. He was not disappointed; the former Vice President hugged, kissed, and posed for photos with his namesake, giving the internet something to smile about and giving fans a reason to follow @bidenthegolden on Instagram.

At the annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, TX earlier this month, Biden urged tech innovators to join in what he thinks should be a bipartisan effort to eradicate cancer. He outlined his plans for a Biden cancer initiative with his wife Jill, and even got choked up while discussing his son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015. He said that he will be committed to working with the Trump administration to find a cure “to spare other families what our family, and so many other families, have gone through."

It is my hope that this new administration, once it gets organized… will be able to focus on and be as committed and enthusiastic as we were with the goal of ending cancer as we know it. I pledge before all of you and all the world that I will do everything in my power to work with the new administration.

Years of speculation were put to rest this week when Biden's daughter Ashley revealed, at long last, what his favorite Obama-Biden meme is. In an interview with Moneyish, Ashley said that when she first told her father about the memes, he "sat there for an hour and laughed." If the thought of Biden chuckling as he scrolls through memes about himself doesn't bring you enough joy, take a look at his favorite pick above.

It seems like with each passing day, the House Intelligence Committee discovers more connections between the Trump Administration and Russia. Many politicians, including Republicans like John McCain, have called for an independent investigation into the matter, and last week Joe Biden added his voice to the mix. After House Intelligence Chair Representative Devin Nunes announced that he shared details about U.S. surveillance with the White House before he shared the information with the public, Biden called for "checks and balances" to ensure that no shady dealings are taking place.

Biden appeared to appeal to the fairness in everyone by urging attendees at a conference at the University of Delaware to "give Trump a chance" to lead the country. Unlike some politicians who have lashed out at the President for some of his controversial actions, Biden sought a more bipartisan approach by suggesting that we try to work with the President to improve the country. He said of Trump:

He deserves a chance and in fairness to him, this is a man in my view, who understandably like all the press thought, didn’t think he was gonna win.

Although the Affordable Care Act faced its greatest challenge yet when House Republicans sought to repeal the Obama-era healthcare plan and replace it with the American Health Care Act earlier this week, Biden continued to work towards preserving the legacy of universal healthcare that he helped build. After the AHCA received criticism for potentially causing 24 million Americans to lose their insurance, Biden spoke out against the bill.

"I'm not going anywhere. This bill isn't going to pass." Biden said at a rally in Washington. Ultimately, the AHCA failed to receive enough votes to move forward.

After the White House repealed the Obama Administration's federal protections that allowed transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender they identity with in public schools, Biden had some strong words for the President. Biden has long been an advocate for LGBTQ rights, and even called discrimination against these individuals "the civil rights issue of our time." Here's what he had to say about Trump's recent legislation:

Instead of focusing on the fact that 40 percent of the homeless youth on the street are identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender [and] rejected by their families out on the street, and what do we do about that, we’re now focusing on whether or not a transgender child, which bathroom they can use.”

Joe Biden may not have a role in the White House for at least the next four years, but his actions over the past month have shown us that he will continue to preserve the legacy of his administration and work to improve the lives of Americans through advocacy and policy initiatives. Until then, we'll be crossing our fingers that he decides to run for President in 2020.