Presidential transition of Barack Obama he was sworn in as Vice President on January 20, 2009. Although he was sworn in for a seventh Senate term in early January 2009, he resigned from the seat on January 15, 2009, having served just over 36 years in the body. On November 24, 2008, Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner announced that Ted Kaufman would serve as Biden's appointed replacement. Kaufman was sworn in on January 16, 2009. A special election was held in November 2010, which elected Democratic candidate Chris Coons. During his abbreviated final term in the Senate, Biden went on a diplomatic fact-finding trip to
Assassination threats against Barack Obama White House website in July 2015, in which he threatened to kill the US ambassador to South Korea and rape the second daughter of US President Barack Obama. In his letters, titled "Declaration Terror to Mr. President Obama" and "Dear Mr. President Obama and Mrs. First lady Michelle", Lee threatened to assassinate Mark Lippert, who had been injured in a stabbing earlier that year. Lee also threatened to rape Sasha Obama, President Obama's second daughter, in another letter. Following a request from the US Embassy, the South Korean authorities arrested Lee on July 16, 2015. In late October 2018, officials