Biden aims to cement his legacy: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, White House correspondent Mike Memoli previews President Joe Biden's speech explaining his decision to abandon his re-election bid. Plus, we dive into Vice President Kamala Harris' truncated running mate selection process, which chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes can give her an opportunity to define herself.

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Biden embarks on a new project: Shaping his legacy

By Mike Memoli

For more than three at-times excruciating weeks, President Joe Biden and his team were locked in a campaign to save his candidacy. With his prime-time address to the nation Wednesday night, a new effort is underway: to shape his legacy.

A group of Biden’s closest advisers is already at work to plot out what that will look like. The discussion includes domestic priorities he could advance in coming budget negotiations with Congress or through executive action, diplomatic initiatives he could see through with a freer hand and accomplishing what he has described as the most elusive of the three goals he outlined in his 2020 campaign — unifying the country.

NBC News spoke to a half-dozen White House and campaign officials about what Biden is planning, and advisers said they recognize that the biggest factor shaping how he is viewed in history will be whether Vice President Kamala Harris is successful in her bid to succeed him.

“Everything is being viewed through that lens,” a White House official said.

In the earliest stages of this new phase, Harris