Obama to join Biden at first White House event since leaving office
Washington — Former President Barack Obama is returning to the White House this week to celebrate the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act (ACA), his signature law that passed 12 years ago. It will be Obama's first joint appearance with President Biden at the White House since the two were president and vice president.
Obama, Mr. Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks on Tuesday "celebrating the success of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in extending affordable health insurance to millions of Americans as a part of the president's agenda to cut costs of American families," according to a White House official.
The White House says Mr. Biden will take "additional action" to further strengthen the ACA. March marked the 12th anniversary of the ACA becoming law. NBC News first reported Obama's plans to attend the event.
Obama and Mr. Biden will also have lunch, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. Psaki said the two speak regularly on the phone.
Obama, 60, tested positive for COVID-19 in March, but said he felt fine other than a scratchy throat for a couple days. He is vaccinated and boosted, and encouraged others to do the same.
Obama, who attended Mr. Biden's January 2021 inauguration, has largely avoided publicly commenting on his former vice president's time in office.