President Joe Biden, visiting Austin for the first time since taking over the White House in January 2021, is scheduled to deliver a speech marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act on Monday at the University of Texas' Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library.
The visit to the facility, which houses exhibits and artifacts commemorating the president who signed landmark legislation that ended Jim Crow-era institutionalized racism, came after two previously scheduled visits were postponed. The first was scheduled two days after the July 13 assassination attempt on 2024 Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump. The second was postponed after Biden contracted COVID-19.
Live Stream:President Biden speaks at Austin's LBJ Library on Monday: How to watch
The political landscape has changed dramatically since his plans to come to Texas were announced earlier this month. Biden, facing increasing pressure from party leaders, decided on July 21 not to run for a second term, despite having secured a delegate count that would have easily secured him the Democratic National Convention nomination.
Vice President Kamala Harris received Biden's swift endorsement and appears on track to become the nominee.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson will welcome Biden at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at approximately 2:30 p.m. The program at the LBJ Library, which will include remarks and performances from others besides keynote speaker Biden, is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. The entire program at the LBJ Library will be livestreamed here.
more:President Biden speaks at Austin's LBJ Library on Monday: How to watch the livestream
This page will be updated throughout the day with the latest news on President Biden's visit.
Updated 9:45 a.m.: Doggett greets Biden in Austin
Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, who first called on Biden not to seek reelection, has received an invitation to speak at the Johnson Presidential Library on Monday, the congressman's office announced.
Doggett's call earlier this month sparked a national debate about whether Biden could beat Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election and whether he had the stamina and acumen to run an effective campaign. After resisting calls for him to step down for weeks, Biden reversed course and ended his campaign on July 21. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
–John Moritz
Updated 9:30 a.m.: Travel delays expected as President Biden visits Austin
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport advised travelers on Sunday that they can expect delays of 15 to 30 minutes as President Biden arrives in Austin on Monday afternoon.
Biden is expected to arrive around 2:30 p.m., with the presidential motorcade passing through downtown Austin and proceeding to the Johnson Presidential Library at the University of Texas.
The Texas Department of Transportation also warned drivers to find alternative routes when traveling through Austin from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday due to “rolling road closures” including Interstate 35 and Texas 71 during Biden's visit.
After departing Austin aboard Air Force One, President Biden will fly to Houston to pay tribute to the late Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston native who served in Congress for 30 years and died on July 19 at age 74. She is being given a state funeral at Houston City Hall this week.
-Hogan Gore
Updated 9 a.m.: Biden calls for reform of the U.S. Supreme Court and limits on presidential speech immunity
In a speech at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin on Monday afternoon, Biden will support sweeping reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court and limits on presidential power, USA Today, The Washington Post and The Associated Press reported.
Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also supports the proposal Biden will unveil, the White House said in a fact sheet.
The President said: no In an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Monday morning, he explained that criminal immunity for crimes committed while in office should be eliminated. The amendment, which would nullify the Supreme Court's recent decision granting immunity to former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump from criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office, would be difficult to pass and would have a tough time clearing the two-thirds majorities needed in both the Senate and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Biden also wants term limits and enforceable ethics rules for Supreme Court justices, noting that the United States is “the only major constitutional democracy that seats Supreme Court justices for life.” Both reforms require congressional approval, which is unlikely as long as the House of Representatives remains Republican-controlled. The Senate has just 51 Democrats, but 60 votes are needed to pass most legislation.
Biden's binding code of conduct would require judges to “disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest,” and would replace the self-enforcement system.
“This is common sense,” the president wrote Monday. “All other federal judges are bound by enforceable codes of conduct and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt.”
The request came as Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito faced criticism over reports that Justice Thomas had received free travel from a well-connected billionaire and that Justice Alito's wife had flown a flag with political oversight.
“What is happening right now is not normal and undermines public confidence in the Supreme Court's decisions, including those that affect individual liberties,” Biden wrote. “We are now in a crisis.”
-Baylis Wagner
