WASHINGTON — Biden Administration officials are working against the clock to distribute billions of dollars in grants and take other steps to try to preserve at least some of the outgoing president’s legacy before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

“Let’s take each day,” President Joe Biden said in his address to the nation last week after acknowledging Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Trump in the presidential race.

Trump has vowed to cancel unspent funds for Biden’s groundbreaking climate and healthcare law and halt clean energy development projects.

“There is only one administration at a time,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters at a news conference Thursday. “This is true now and will be true after January 20. Our responsibility is to make good use of the funds provided by Congress.” that he is in charge of us and that we have been responsible for appointment and payment for the last three years.”

But Trump will be checking more than just the purse strings in January. His administration may also propose new regulations to undo some of what the Biden Administration has done through the rulemaking process.

Here are some of the moves the Biden Administration is currently taking:

Infrastructure expenditures are made at the door

Biden Administration officials hope projects funded under the $1 trillion infrastructure bill and $375 billion climate law will extend beyond Biden’s term and are working to ensure money from the landmark measures continues to flow.

On Friday, Buttigieg announced more than $3.4 billion in grants for projects designed to improve passenger rail service, help U.S. ports, reduce highway deaths and support domestic production of sustainable transportation materials.

“We are investing in better transportation systems that touch every corner of the country and in workers who will produce materials and carry out projects,” he said. “Communities will see safer journeys, cleaner air and stronger supply chains that we all rely on.”

Accelerating environmental goals

Announcements of major environmental grants and project approvals have accelerated in recent months in what White House officials have described as “rushing toward the end” of Biden’s four-year term.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently set a nationwide deadline for lead pipe removal and announced nearly $3 billion to help local water systems comply. The agency also announced that, for the first time, oil and gas companies will have to pay federal fees if they emit hazardous methane above certain levels.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy announced a $544 million loan to a Michigan company to expand production of high-quality silicon carbide wafers for electric vehicles. The loan is one of 28 deals totaling $37 billion awarded under the clean energy loan program revived and expanded under the Biden administration.

“There is a new urgency to get everything done. “We’re seeing explosions of money coming out the door,” said Melinda Pierce, legislative director for the Sierra Club. Biden and his allies “really want to finish what they started.”

Ukraine aid

Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters this week that Biden “wants to spend the authority that Congress has appropriated and authorized before he leaves office.” So we will work hard to make that happen.”

The Biden Administration will have to drain $7.1 billion from the Pentagon’s stockpile ($4.3 billion from the 2024 supplement and $2.8 billion still in savings accounts as the Pentagon recalculates the value of shipped systems) to fully spend on the weapons. These funds are required before Trump is sworn in.

An additional $2.2 billion is also available to tie weapons systems into long-term contracts. However, the latest aid packages were much smaller in size; each was worth about $200 million to $300 million.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the new administration would have to reverse that because the funds were already obligated, which would make it harder to get the funds back.

Pressure to quickly certify judicial elections

Another priority for the White House is to confirm as many federal judges as possible by the Senate before Trump takes office on January 20.

The Senate this week approved the appointment of former prosecutor April Perry as a U.S. District Court judge in northern Illinois by a vote of 51 to 44. More than a dozen pending judicial candidates those out of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Eight judicial nominations are awaiting committee votes and six are awaiting committee hearings.

Trump has called on Republicans to oppose efforts to confirm judicial nominees. “No Judges should be confirmed during this time because Democrats want to attack their own Judges while Republicans fight over Leadership,” he wrote on social media site X on Nov. 10, before congressional Republicans elected their new leader.

Student loan forgiveness

The Education Department is rushing to finalize a new federal rule that would cancel student loans for people experiencing financial hardship. The proposal, one of Biden’s only student loan plans not blocked by federal courts, is in a public comment period scheduled to end Dec. 2.

The department will then have a narrow window to finalize and begin implementing the rule, a process that typically takes months. Like Biden’s other efforts, it is almost certain to face a legal challenge.

Aaron Ament, an Obama administration Education Department official and president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, also said the Biden Administration has the ability to expedite student loan cancellation for people who have already been promised relief because they were deceived by their universities.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona could decide these and other cases instead of handing them over to the Trump administration, which is expected to be much friendlier to for-profit colleges. “This is a no-brainer,” Ament said. “Cardona has a lot of cases sitting on his desk. “It’s hard to imagine these things being left untouched.”

Trump has yet to say what he will do about student loan forgiveness. But he and Republicans have criticized Biden’s efforts.