Former Penn professor and President Joe Biden said he wants to return to the Penn Biden Center after leaving office.
Credit: Son NguyenFormer Benjamin Franklin Professor of Presidential Practice and President Joe Biden said in an interview on Wednesday that he "want[s]" to resume his involvement in the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement after leaving the White House.
Biden used the Penn-affiliated global think tank as his main office in Washington after he departed his vice presidency under former President Barack Obama in 2017. In a conversation with The View on Wednesday, Biden said he planned to build upon his work as president through the two academic centers named after him — the other being the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware’s Biden School of Public Policy and Administration.
“I’m less concerned about what my legacy is … because there’s so many other things I want to do in terms of the Biden Institute at Penn on foreign policy and the Biden Institute in Delaware on domestic policy, to keep the things going that we started,” Biden said.
A University spokesperson did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The Penn Biden Center’s fate and activity has long been unclear after Biden’s campaign and eventual victory in the 2020 presidential election. Biden took a leave of absence from the University in April 2019 — just over one year after the official launch of the center — to run for president.
Several staffers at the center eventually joined Biden’s administration, with some in high-profile roles including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who served as the Penn Biden Center’s managing director from 2017 to 2019. Steven Ricchetti, who preceded Blinken as the Penn Biden Center's managing director, later chaired Biden's 2020 presidential campaign and helped coordinate Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election.
The center has also faced allegations of foreign influence and controversy over housing classified documents in recent years. In November 2022, classified documents were found in the Penn Biden Center, prompting a probe and congressional hearing, which ultimately did not result in charges against Biden.
In January 2023, the United States House Oversight and Accountability Committee wrote a letter to former Penn President Liz Magill, requesting documents and records about the Penn Biden Center’s employees, visitors, and donors.
In June, the University announced the creation of Penn Washington, a program that aims to “enrich the connection between federal and global policy makers and Penn faculty, students, and staff.” Under this initiative, the center will be a part of Penn Washington, and the program’s physical address is set where the Penn Biden Center is currently located.
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