
Khan gained national prominence, and became a target of Donald Trump’s wrath, after speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Khizr Khan, a n immigrant from Pakistan, Khan’s Army officer son was killed in Iraq. Biden said he is “one of my dear friends.” Father Alexander Karloutsos, the assistant to Archbishop Demetrios of America.

Steve Jobs, the co-founder, chief executive and chair of Apple Inc. and, at age 91, continues to practice law. He was a prominent civil rights attorney who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP and Martin Luther King Jr. Fred Gray, one of the first Black members of the Alabama Legislature after Reconstruction. Garcia was the first Latina to become a college president, the White House said.

Julieta Garcia, a former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville. Sister Simone Campbell, a member of the Sister of Social Service and a former executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. Then-President Obama honored Biden’s decades of public service by awarding him a Presidential Medal of Freedom “with distinction” during a ceremony shortly before they left office in January 2017.īiden closed the ceremony by declaring, “This is America.” The 17 people receiving honors “have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities, and across the world, while blazing trails for generations to come,” the White House said.īiden himself knows what it’s like to receive the medal. I knew his honor, his courage and commitment.” He later represented Arizona in the House and Senate, and was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, competing against Democrats Barack Obama and Biden.īiden said he didn’t appreciate the political competition, but “I never stopped admiring John. He spent more than five years in captivity in Vietnam while serving in the U.S. Alan Simpson of Wyoming and John McCain of Arizona, recalling a less partisan era of Washington in which members of different parties would argue over issues during the day and then meet over dinner at night. The Democratic president, who took office at a critical point during the coronavirus pandemic, also honored Sandra Lindsay, the Queens, New York, nurse who was the first person to be vaccinated against COVID-19 outside of clinical trials during a live television appearance in December 2020.īiden also recognized former Republican Sens.

She’s also the youngest person to ever receive the medal, Biden said. The 25-year-old is an advocate for athletes’ mental health, foster care children and sexual assault victims. “I don’t know how you’re going to find room,” for another medal, Biden joked. “Today, she adds to her medal count,” Biden said as he introduced Biles, a former foster child whose 32 Olympic and World Championship medals make her the most decorated U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden on Thursday presented the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 17 people, including gymnast Simone Biles, the late John McCain, the Arizona Republican whom Biden served with in the Senate, and gun-control advocate Gabby Giffords.
