Joe Biden marked six months as president on Tuesday, gathering the vast majority of his Cabinet, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, at the White House to discuss the months and years to come. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden assembled his Cabinet members at the White House on Tuesday to mark six months in office 

  • Biden said while his administration is "delivering on our promises," he noted there is much work to be done in the months ahead, including getting his spending and infrastructure proposals passed by Congress

  • Biden’s biggest challenge has been getting the coronavirus pandemic under control, as vaccinations have started to lag in certain parts of the country

  • Biden is also largely focused on pushing through his infrastructure and families bills, saying they must be passed to sustain the economic momentum of his first six months in office

“The bottom line is, we're delivering on our promises,” Biden said of his administration. “We have to deliver on all the promises we made, because I think we're in a situation where the vast majority of the public agrees with the essence of what we're trying to do.” 

Biden went on to discuss the numerous challenges facing the United States, ranging from tackling the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to returning American leadership to the world stage. 

Six months ago, Biden assumed leadership of a deeply divided country, weeks after a violent mob of Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, temporarily delaying the certification of Electoral College votes in Biden’s favor. 

That day still hangs over Biden’s presidency, as his Justice Department works to identify, charge, and prosecute the hundreds of people who participated in the day’s events. On Monday, Paul Allard Hodgkins of Florida was sentenced to eight months behind bars for breaching the U.S. Senate chamber, the first felony sentence for someone involved in the Capitol Riot. 

To date, the Justice Department has arrested over 535 individuals for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, including “over 165 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement."

But perhaps Biden’s biggest challenge has been — and will likely remain — getting the coronavirus pandemic under control. 

When Biden took office in January, a little under 16 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been shipped out nationwide, with even less having been administered to individuals. 

One of the initial steps of Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda was to increase both supply and demand for COVID-19 vaccines by partnering with government agencies, non-profits, businesses and schools across the country. 

Around 161 million Americans are now vaccinated against the disease, or a little over 48% of the population. 

Despite the administration’s increased focus on vaccinations, the country failed to meet Biden’s goal of having at least 60% of adult Americans having been vaccinated by the Fourth of July, with that number still hovering around 59%. 

Now, the administration is facing lagging vaccination rates in some areas of the country, particularly in rural areas and majority-minority communities. 

“Virtually all of the COVID deaths and hospitalizations are from unvaccinated people,” Biden said Tuesday, later adding: “Get vaccinated. And that's why we're focusing on our next phase on getting the unvaccinated, vaccinated. I know it seems like a constant uphill climb but it's gradually making progress.” 

Biden is also largely focused on pushing through his infrastructure and families bills, saying they must be passed to sustain the economic momentum of his first six months in office. 

Senators are wrangling over how to pay for the new spending in the $1 trillion package of highway, water system and other public works projects.

At the same time, Democrats are developing the particulars of a separate bill that would invest a stunning $3.5 trillion nationwide across Americans’ lives — with support for families, education, climate resiliency and other priorities that they aim to ultimately pass with solely Democratic support.

Money from Biden’s earlier $1.9 trillion relief package has coursed through the country, slowly jump-starting the economy back to life.

Employers have added an average of nearly 543,000 jobs a month since January, with Federal Reserve officials anticipating overall economic growth of roughly 7% this year that would be the highest since 1984. Yet there is also uncertainty as employers say they’re struggling to find workers at the current pay levels and inflation concerns have yet to fully abate.

“With our bipartisan infrastructure framework and our Build Back Better plan, I think we can turn this great movement into an economic boom for some time to come,” Biden said. “I think we're on the cusp of not only getting us out of the hole but setting us on a path that's going to generate significant continued economic growth.”

The president is pushing for more than $4 trillion in combined spending with the hopes of prolonging solid economic gains. Biden’s $3.5 trillion package focused on climate, schools and families will need support from all 50 Senate Democrats to clear a party line vote.

Key to Biden’s message is that the growth is occurring as intended and helping the U.S. middle class, but much of it is expected to fade as the economy fully heals from the pandemic.

Biden said Monday that his proposed investments would help rebuild U.S. supply chains and ease pressures on U.S. production that some economists say have contributed to inflation.

“If we make prudent, multi-year investments in better roads, , transit systems and high speed internet, a modern resilient electric grid, here’s what will happen: It breaks up the bottlenecks in our economy,” the president said said.

“These steps will enhance our productivity, raising wages without raising prices," Biden added. "That won’t increase inflation, it’ll take the pressure off of inflation."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.