President Biden Becomes a Great-Grandfather

Mr. Biden said his eldest granddaughter, Naomi, gave birth to a baby boy in California.

President Biden became a great-grandfather on Wednesday after his eldest granddaughter gave birth to a baby boy in California.

“The good news is, I’m a great-grandfather as of today,” Mr. Biden told reporters after leaving a firehouse in Santa Monica, Calif., where he was on a two-day trip that came to coincide with deadly wildfires in the region.

Mr. Biden at first said that his granddaughter Naomi Biden Neal had given birth to “a 10-pound baby girl” before quickly correcting himself to say “baby boy.”

The first lady, Jill Biden, introduced the newborn in an Instagram post, revealing his name: William Brannon Neal IV. In the photo, taken inside Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Mr. Biden held the boy, who was wrapped in a blue-striped blanket, while Ms. Biden tugged a hat over his dark hair.

Hunter Biden, the baby’s grandfather, his wife, Melissa, and their son, Beau, were also present, according to reporters traveling with the president. They noted that wildfires were visible from the route of the motorcade and that smoke hung low over the hospital as the Bidens congratulated the new parents.

The newborn is the first child of Ms. Biden Neal and Peter Neal, who were married on the South Lawn of the White House in November 2022. Ms. Biden Neal, as the president often says, was named for his firstborn daughter, who died in a car crash along with Mr. Biden’s first wife, Neilia, in 1972.

The president told USA Today in an interview this week that his granddaughter was due to have a cesarean section on Wednesday.

“I’m about to be a great-grandfather, Jesus God,” he said.

Mr. Biden has seven grandchildren.

Inside the Biden Administration

Here’s the latest news and analysis from Washington.

• Last Days in Office: Still stinging from the election, a weary President Biden is pushing for his final priorities but has largely absented himself from the national conversation about Donald Trump.
• U.S. Steel Takeover Bid: U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel sued the United States government in a last-ditch attempt to revive their attempted merger after Biden blocked it over national security concerns.
• Drilling Ban: Biden announced what he called a permanent stop to new oil and gas drilling across most U.S. coastal waters. The ban is part of an effort to fortify his environmental legacy.
• Medal of Freedom: Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 18 people, conferring the honor on core members of the political, financial and celebrity establishment of which he has long been a part.
• Clemency: Biden commuted the sentences of nearly all prisoners on federal death row, sparing the lives of 37 men ahead of Trump’s plan to restart federal executions.