Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has long expressed opposition to the WikiLeaks founder's detention, in February this year supported a parliamentary motion calling for the return of Assange, an Australian citizen, to Australia.
"We are considering it," Biden on Wednesday told a reporter who asked if he had a response to Australia's request to end Assange's prosecution.
Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Assange, called Biden's comments encouraging.
Three weeks earlier, Pollack had said Assange's legal team saw no indication of resolution to US charges against him.
"It is encouraging that President Biden has confirmed that the United States is considering dropping its case against Julian Assange," Pollack said in an email.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden's remarks on Wednesday.
Assange's extradition was put on hold in March after London's High Court said the United States must provide assurances he would not face the death penalty.
The 52-year-old is battling extradition from Britain to the US, where he is wanted on criminal charges over the release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables in 2010.
Washington says the release of the documents had put lives in danger. Prosecutors want to try Assange on 18 counts, mainly under the Espionage Act.
Assange's supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who has been victimised because he exposed US wrongdoing, including in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
If extradited, Assange faces a sentence of up to 175 years in a maximum security prison.
Multiple rights groups, leading media organisations and the leaders of countries like Mexico and Brazil have also urged that charges against Assange be dropped.
In Australia, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has written to Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong urging them to publicly call upon the US government to drop its charges against Assange.
The union's letter on Thursday comes on the fifth anniversary of Assange's detention in the UK.
"We are writing to urge you in the strongest possible terms to take immediate public action to demand the United States government drop the charges against Julian Assange so he can resume life as a free man in Australia," alliance federal president Karen Percy said.
"As we draw closer to the US Presidential election, the opportunity for a satisfactory resolution to this case diminish."
- Reuters and AAP
