President Joe Biden, in his first visit to Austin since assuming the White House on January 2021, will mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act with an address Monday at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library at the University of Texas.
The visit at the venue that houses the artifacts and showcases the accomplishments of the president who signed the landmark legislation that ended the institutionalized segregation of the Jim Crow era, comes after two previously scheduled appearances were postponed. The first would have been two days after the July 13 assassination attempt of 2024 Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. The second was shelved after Biden came down with COVID-19.
Livestream:President Biden to speak at LBJ Library in Austin on Monday: How to watch
Since the plan to come to Texas was announced earlier this month, the political landscape has shifted dramatically. Biden, under increasing pressure from high-profile figures within his party, ended his bid for a second term July 21 even though he had the pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention to easily win renomination.
Vice President Kamala Harris, bolstered by Biden’s swift endorsement, appears to be on a glide path to that nomination.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson will greet Biden at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport around 2:30 p.m. The program at LBJ Library, which will include remarks and performances from others besides Biden as the keynote speaker, is expected to begin at 3 p.m. The entirety of the program at LBJ Library will be livestreamed here.
More:President Biden to speak at LBJ Library in Austin on Monday: How to watch the livestream
This page will be updated throughout the day with the latest news on Biden’s visit.
3:39 p.m. Actor Bryan Cranston reads from LBJ’s original address before signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act
“This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our cities and our states, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country,” Cranston read from LBJ’s original address. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have come to a time of testing. We must not fail.”
3:30 p.m. Words from former presidents LBJ, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in video commemorating the Civil Rights Act
A video played at the LBJ Library event included words from former presidents LBJ, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama on the importance of the Civil Rights Act.
Former President Barack Obama visited Austin in 2014 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic law. Snippets of his address played at the celebration of the act’s 60th anniversary at the LBJ Library Monday.
“Because of the civil rights movement, because of the laws President Johnson signed, new doors of opportunity and education swung open for everybody — not all at once, but they swung open,” Obama said at the LBJ Library inn 2014. “Not just blacks and whites, but also women and Latinos, and Asians and Native Americans, and gay Americans and Americans with a disability. They swung open for you, and they swung open for me. And that’s why I’m standing here today — because of those efforts, because of that legacy.”
3:13 p.m. update: Presiden Biden’s motorcade departs Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
3:10 p.m. LBJ Library program begins with short film, choir and reading from actor Bryan Cranston
The program at LBJ Library began at 3 p.m. with a short film on previous presidents’ remarks on civil rights, likely including those from President Barack Obama, Biden’s former running mate, in 2014.
The concert choir of Huston-Tillotson University, a historically Black institution, will kick off the in-person portion of the program, then actor Bryan Cranston will read an excerpt from the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Musician Ruthie Foster will perform afterward. Then Mark Updegrove, presidential historian and president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, will welcome Biden to the ceremony. Ambassador Andrew Young will introduce the president before his keynote address, set to close out the program.
-Bayliss Wagner
3 p.m. update: Texas politicians greet Biden as Air Force One lands in Austin
Shortly after President Joe Biden landed in Austin on Monday, greeting him on the tarmac were several Texas lawmakers serving at the local, state and federal level, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, who earlier this month made the first inter-party call for Biden to forgo reelection and letting someone else seek the Democratic nomination for president. Others on the tarmac included Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Texas House Democratic leader Trey Martinez Fischer.
-Hogan Gore
2:48 p.m. update: Biden lands in Austin to commemorate Civil Rights Act
President Joe Biden, traveling aboard Air Force One, landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 2:48 p.m. Monday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act during a ceremony at the LBJ Presidential Library.
–Hogan Gore
2:40 p.m. update: Onlookers begin gathering for Biden’s Austin visit
Valeria Guillen, a member of the UT community, arrived by the shaded benches at the hill above the LBJ fountain on campus at 10 a.m. Monday in hopes of catching the president’s eye during his visit to the LBJ Presidential Library to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
Since then, she’s been carrying a sign with a photo of Vanessa Guillen, a United States Army Soldier who was brutally killed and sexually harassed at Fort Hood north of Austin, that read “We want true accountability.” Guillen, Vanessa’s mom’s cousin, told the Statesman she hoped President Joe Biden would see her sign when he looks toward the fountain and remembers Vanessa Guillen, who’s death sparked a wave of calls and action to address sexual harassment and assault in the military. “We don’t want this to be forgotten,” she said.Guillen plans to be by the library until 4 p.m. She said she hopes Biden speaks up about sexual harassment in the military to help bring true justice to Vanessa’s mother and sisters, who she said do not have support from the government or military. Guillen also said she hopes there is more awareness of resources people can turn to.
Around 2 p.m., Esala Wueschner, a Travis County Republican Party precinct chair, gazed toward the LBJ Presidential Library’s entrance from the hill across the way, with a carabiner pining a blue Trump flag like a cape across his cherry red Trump shirt.“There’s a lot of people here in Austin, even Democrats, who don’t support Biden,” Wueschner said. “I’m here to give them courage to stand up for their personal values.”About an hour before the commemoration ceremony was expected to start, several spectators had begun to gather on the hill. Police set up a wide perimeter around the venue, blocking off the parking lot and Robert Dedman Drive from DKR stadium to Trinity Street. Wueschner said he is supporting Trump not because he thinks he’s a good person, but because he has faith in the Republican Party and its policies. He said he wants to encourage others to stand up for their beliefs when it comes to picking a candidate, regardless of which party they are registered with.
–Lily Kepner
2:15 p.m. update: Biden’s motorcade arrives at Austin airport
President Joe Biden’s motorcade has arrived at Austin Bergstrom-International Airport.The president’s limousine, an army of black SUVs, several shuttle buses, equipment trucks and an ambulance are awaiting his arrival from Washington on the tarmac. Biden is expected to land on Air Force One in Austin around 3 p.m.
–Hogan Gore
1:48 p.m. Media, lawmakers await Biden’s arrival at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Reporters and state and federal lawmakers arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s southern terminal in preparation of President Joe Biden’s arrival.
Biden is expected to touch down on Air Force One in Austin around 3 p.m. after departing Washington shortly before noon central time, a member of Biden’s arrival team told the Statesman about 1:20 p.m.
Members of the media are setting up cameras on tractor trailers on the tarmac, while other journalists and lawmakers remain waiting in air conditioned shuttles near where Biden’s plane is expected to land.
U.S. Reps. Al Green and Sylvia Garcia, both Houston Democrats, and state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, are part of the welcoming delegation.
-Hogan Gore
1:45 p.m. Lawmakers, civil rights leaders traveling to Austin with Biden
A large contingent of lawmakers and civil rights leaders traveled with the president to Austin. Here’s a list of them, provided by the White House:
- Sen. Chris Coons (DE)
- Sen. Alex Padilla (CA)
- Sen. Raphael Warnock (GA)
- Former Sen. Chuck Robb (VA)
- Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC-06)
- Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04)
- Rep. Nanette Barragan (CA-44)
- Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16)
-Cross Harris
1:30 p.m. Media, dignitaries screened ahead of Biden’s arrival in Austin
Reporters were allowed entry to the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin at 1 p.m. and were screened by the Secret Service ahead of Biden’s visit to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.Across an enclave from the press check-in table, VIPs and dignitaries waited in a separate line to be screened and allowed inside.Biden will speak in the library’s auditorium. In advance of his arrival, library staff tested video that will be shown as part of the program.
–John Moritz
12:00 p.m. update: President Biden boards Air Force One for Austin
Shortly after noon, Biden boarded Air Force One for his flight to Austin, where he’s expected to touch down around 2:30 p.m.
-Cross Harris
9:45 a.m. update: Doggett to greet Biden in Austin
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the Austin Democrat who first called on Biden to end his reelection bid, has received an invitation to Monday’s speech at the LBJ Presidential Library, the congressman’s office said.
Doggett’s call earlier this month launched what turned out to be a national conversation over whether Biden could beat Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election and whether he had the stamina and acuity to mount an effective campaign. After weeks of resisting calls to step aside, Biden reversed course July 21 and ended his campaign. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
–John Moritz
9:30 a.m. update: Expect travel delays as President Biden visits Austin
Travelers can expect delays of 15-30 minutes as Biden arrives in Austin on Monday afternoon, Austin Bergstrom-International Airport advised passengers Sunday.
With Biden’s arrival expected around 2:30 p.m., the president’s motorcade will head through downtown Austin en route to the LBJ Presidential Library at UT.
The Texas Department of Transportation also warned drivers to seek alternate routes through Austin on Monday between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. as there will be “rolling closures on major roadways,” including Interstate 35 and Texas 71, during Biden’s visit.
Upon his departure from Austin on Air Force One, Biden will fly to Houston to pay respects to the late Sheila Jackson Lee. The Houston Democrat, who served in Congress for 30 years, passed away July 19 at age 74 and is lying in state this week at Houston City Hall.
-Hogan Gore
9 a.m. update: Biden to call for reforms to U.S. Supreme Court, limits to presidential immunity in speech
Biden will voice support for sweeping changes to the U.S. Supreme Court and limits on presidential power during his speech at Austin’s LBJ Presidential Library and Museum on Monday afternoon, USA Today, the Washington Post and the AP report.
Vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also supports the proposals Biden will announce, the White House wrote in a fact sheet.
The president is calling for a constitutional amendment that would “make clear that there is no immunity for crimes committed while in office,” he detailed in a Washington Post op-ed published Monday morning. The amendment would nullify the high court’s recent ruling that former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for acts taken in his official capacity, making it a long shot to clear the two-thirds majority it needs in both the Senate and the GOP-dominated House.
Biden is also seeking term limits and an enforceable code of ethics for Supreme Court justices, noting the U.S. is “the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court.” Both reforms would need to be confirmed by Congress, an unlikely prospect while the House maintains a GOP majority. The Senate has only 51 Democrats but needs 60 votes to pass most measures.
The binding code of conduct Biden seeks would require justices to “disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest,” replacing a system of self-enforcement.
“This is common sense,” the president wrote Monday. “Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt.”
The call comes as Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have faced criticism over reports that Thomas accepted free travel from well-connected billionaires and Alito’s wife flew politically-charged flags.
“What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms,” Biden wrote. “We now stand in a breach.”
-Bayliss Wagner
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