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WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Current and former U.S. presidents and other officials offered congratulations to Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, as he became the first American pope.
The same week, former President Joe Biden made his first media appearances since leaving the White House.
Vice President JD Vance, a longtime critic of U.S. aid for Ukraine, suggested Russia is “asking for too much” in peace talks, while former Vice President Mike Pence was presented with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
Meanwhile, Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, said May 9 the Trump administration is “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, or an individual’s right to challenge their detention in court, as a means of enforcing its hardline immigration policy.
— Presidents, other officials celebrate first American pope
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, as well as former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush, were among the U.S. officials to celebrate the first U.S.-born pontiff.
Read more here.
— Biden rejects reports of cognitive decline in post-White House media blitz
In his first media appearances since leaving the White House, Biden denied reports of cognitive decline in his final months in office.
A disastrous debate performance in June 2024 — during which he seemed confused and spoke with a very faint voice — crystallized longstanding concerns about Biden’s ability to serve another four-year term, polls showed. It ultimately led to his decision to end his own reelection bid — forgoing the possibility to become the first Catholic president to do so — and endorse his running mate, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris lost the presidential election Nov. 5, returning Trump to the office he lost four years earlier. Early exit polls indicated economic concerns ranked among the top issues for voters, and that Catholic voters may have undergone a significant shift to the right since 2020.
A book titled “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson is scheduled to be published May 20. Biden’s allies are eager to strengthen the former president’s legacy at a time when many in his party want him to withdraw from the political stage, Politico reported.
In an interview on The View, during which Biden was joined by his wife, former first lady Jill Biden, the couple disputed reports of his cognitive decline and a subsequent cover-up by aides.
“They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that,” former President Biden said of the allegations.
In his final days in office, OSV News examined how Catholicism is an integral albeit complex part of Biden’s legacy, both in his overt public observance of the faith and in areas where his public policy sometimes diverged from church teaching.
— Vance says Russia is ‘asking for too much’ in Ukraine peace negotiations
Vance said May 7 that the Trump administration believes Russia is “asking for too much” during peace negotiations as the Trump administration seeks to deliver a campaign promise to bring an end to the conflict.
A skeptic of U.S. aid for Ukraine, Vance played a role in the breakdown of a tense February Oval Office meeting with Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But he said at a Munich Leaders Meeting on international security policy in Washington, “Right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions, in order to end the conflict.”
“We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance, who is Catholic, said.
Asked about Vance’s comments later the same day, Trump said, “It’s possible that’s right.”
“We are getting to a point where some decisions are going to have to be made,” said Trump, who has previously indicated he may have the U.S. walk away from the negotiations if he is not satisfied by their progress.
“I’m not happy about it,” Trump said. “I’m not happy about it.”
Trump, who as a candidate repeatedly said that he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” upon taking office, recently reached his 100th day in office without having secured a resolution.
Catholic leaders have long called for an end to the conflict sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
— Trump aide: White House ‘actively looking at’ suspending habeas corpus
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, told reporters May 9, “The Constitution is clear, and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in time of invasion.”
“So, I would say that’s an option we’re actively looking at,” he said.
The principle, which can be traced to the Magna Carta, the 1215 charter guaranteeing certain civil and political liberties in England, is enshrined in Article I of the U.S. Constitution. Habeas corpus has been suspended in some form a handful of times during wartime since the Constitution was enacted, including during the Civil War and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Some Trump allies have advocated for the suspension of habeas corpus in the U.S. as a means of facilitating mass deportations.
In a February letter to the U.S. bishops, Catholics and all people of goodwill, about issues of migration in the U.S. the late Pope Francis acknowledged “the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival.” But he urged the defense of “the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights.”
“This is not a minor issue: an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized,” Pope Francis wrote. “The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all — as I have affirmed on numerous occasions — welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable. This does not impede the development of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration. However, this development cannot come about through the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others.”
He then warned, “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”
— Pence receives John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award
Former Vice President Pence was presented with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on May 4 for his refusal to reject the results of the 2020 election despite pressure from Trump to do so, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum announced.
Previously Trump’s Trump’s running mate in the 2016 and 2020 elections, Pence broke with the president by rejecting Trump’s unfounded claims of a stolen election and certifying Biden’s victory in the 2020 election despite the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In comments at a Boston ceremony, Pence acknowledged some differences of opinion with the Democrats in the room, but said, “To forge a future together, we have to find common ground.”
“I hope in some small way my presence here tonight is a reminder that whatever differences we may have as Americans, the Constitution is the common ground on which we stand. It’s what binds us across time and generations,” Pence said, adding, “It’s what makes us one people.”
During the Capitol riot, Pence rejected the Secret Service’s advice that he leave the Capitol building. He insisted on remaining in place for the ceremonial certification of Biden’s election.
“By God’s grace I did my duty that day to support the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States of America,” Pence said, calling Jan. 6, 2021, “a tragic day but it became a triumph of freedom.”
He said, “History will record that our institutions held.”
The award, named for the nation’s first Catholic president, is presented annually to public servants “for making a courageous decision of conscience,” the late president’s memorial foundation said.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
