Biden Trolls Trump With Surprise Cuba Move Before Leaving Office

US President Joe Biden makes a statement about the terrorist attack in New Orleans on Bourbon Street from Camp David, Maryland, on January 1, 2025. The FBI identified Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who is a US citizen and Army veteran, as the man who slammed a pickup truck flying an Islamic State flag into a crowd of New Year revelers in New Orleans on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 35. (Photo by Chris KLEPONIS / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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The White House announced a plan to lift the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, sending the incoming Trump administration another curveball just days before President Joe Biden leaves office.

“The Government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period,” the White House said in a certification of the decision. “The Government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”

As Biden notified Congress of the move on Tuesday, Cuba was expected to release a number of political prisoners on humanitarian grounds after talks with the Catholic Church, according to senior administration officials.

Trump made a similar last-minute switch in 2021, reversing the Obama administration’s removal of Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list shortly before he stepped down in January.

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However, as soon as next week, the 47th president may have an opportunity to undo his predecessor’s Cuba calls all over again.

Trump’s pick for top diplomat is Florida Senator Marco Rubio, whose family fled Cuba before the communist revolution in the 1950s.

Though Cuban-American, Rubio is known for his hardline stances in foreign policy and has long supported sanctions on the communist state.

Rubio’s confirmation hearing as Secretary of State is scheduled for Wednesday.