Joe Biden was a US senator.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. ( [ ˈdʒoʊsᵻf_rɒbᵻˈnɛt_ˈbaɪdən ] born November 20 , 1942 ) is an American politician who was the 47th Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 , having been jointly elected twice with President Barack Obama . He was first elected to the Senate in 1972 , and became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history . The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary , informally the Senate Judiciary Committee , is a standing committee of the United States Senate , of the United States Congress . The United States Senate elections , 1972 was an election for the United States Senate coinciding with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon .