President Joe Biden signed off on the trade, which took place in the United Arab Emirates, even though it meant leaving behind Paul Whelan, a U.S. corporate security executive who remains jailed in Russia."I'm proud that today we have made one more family whole," Biden said, adding that he will continue to work to free Whelan.Cherelle Griner, speaking after Biden, expressed her "sincere gratitude" to Biden and several other officials whom she mentioned by name for their work.“Biden just gave Putin a huge, huge tool in the toolkit to fund and arm Russia’s war machine,” Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., said on Fox News.Some on the right attacked Griner as being less deserving of release than Whelan, because she once protested during the playing of the national anthem at WNBA games to raise awareness of racial justice issues."