Vice President Joe Biden is at a
crossroads in his political career, considering his future beyond President Barack Obama's term in office and in the wake of his son's untimely death from brain cancer, according to
The New York Times.
The possibility of taking on another campaign is uncertain, and the 72-year-old appears committed to concentrating on the job at hand. His briefs include clean energy and foreign policy, specifically Ukraine and Iraq. He also celebrated the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.
"This is not a guy who is going to go easily," former Sen. Ted Kaufman, a longtime confidant who filled Biden's Delaware Senate seat after the 2008 election, told the Times. "Whatever he's doing, he's going to stay involved. He's not looking to retire, like me. He's pretty clearly in the 'I'm going to do everything I can to use what I've learned to be involved.'"
Biden's work has helped serve as a distraction from grieving for his son, the Times said. Since returning to work he has maintained a busy schedule, including meetings with the prime minister of Ukraine, the speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, the president of Brazil, the president of Honduras, the prime minister of Canada and the prime minister of Mongolia.
On Monday he is slated to attend a United States-Ukraine Business Forum and give a speech on India at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, according to the Times.
The Times said that Biden is not ready to talk about his future and did not respond to a request for an interview. His interactions in Washington are marked by condolences.
"He's the nicest person I think I've ever met in politics," said South Carolina GOP
Sen. Lindsey Graham. "He is as good a man as God ever created. And we don't agree on much, but I think he's been dealt a really gut blow."
In 1972, Biden lost his wife and 1-year-old daughter in a car accident just weeks after he won election to the Senate. Colleagues and friends say the recent death of his 46-year-old son has opened up a fresh wave a grief, and he has spent much of the last weeks with his family.
Some supporters continue to push a narrative that Biden is poised to make a bid for the presidency, but aides told the Times that the vice president has not authorized preparations and is focusing on his family instead of his political future.
"It's not like he has all this time now to think about his future," an adviser told the Times. "He has to process everything."
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