On his first visit since joining the White House as Commander-in-Chief, President Biden spent Friday afternoon with wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Biden spent about an hour at the hospital outside Washington, DC, where he visited five injured service members receiving treatment at the facility, before visiting the coronavirus vaccine distribution center.
The trip marked the first time Biden was at the medical center as president, but he is no stranger there, having spent almost six months as a patient in 1988.
Biden later spent time at the medical center visiting his son Beau Biden, who served as a major in the Delaware Army National Guard and died at Walter Reed in 2015 after battling brain cancer.
Biden met with two hospital staff, who greeted him for several minutes before his visit, thanking him for the care they showed for his son.
“You took care of him in his last days, with great grace and dignity,” said Biden. Adding: “It is an honor to be back.”
Biden later chatted and thanked service members who worked at the local vaccine distribution center on the hospital’s indoor basketball courts.
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Before leaving the White House on Friday, the president reflected on his many years of visiting Walter Reed while he was vice president in the Obama administration.
“I was at Walter Reed a lot,” Biden told reporters at South Lawn. “As vice president, every Christmas, we spend the whole Christmas day at Walter Reed. These kids are amazing.”
Democratic leadership in the House and Senate is seeking to force a budgetary reconciliation so that the next coronavirus aid package can be approved without having to obtain the support of the Republican Party.
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Biden suggested supporting the move, saying he would like to see the package approved with “the support of Republicans, if we can.
“But the relief has to go,” he added. “No ifs and or buts.”