President Biden signs slew of executive actions during first day. Here’s a look
President Joe Biden has signed more than a dozen executive actions during his first day in office — including on the pandemic, racial and LGBTQ equity, immigration issues and environmental issues.
Biden was sworn in as the 46th president just before noon Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol and delivered an address urging unity. Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in shortly before, making history as the first woman, first Black person and first South Asian-American person to hold the office.
Hours after taking office, Biden took “a historic number of actions” — including orders, memoranda and directives to agencies — to address a number of issues and to undo some of former President Donald Trump’s policies, a White House official told multiple news outlets.
Administration officials told reporters that “this is just the beginning” and that more actions should be expected within Biden’s first 100 days, according to Politico.
Here’s a look at his initial plans, according to the transition team.
COVID-19 response and relief
▪ Masks and social distancing: Biden will issue an executive order requiring the use of face masks and social distancing in federal buildings, on federal lands and by federal employees. He’s also asking federal agencies to work with state and local governments to implement masking, social distancing and other safety measures.
▪ Ending the WHO withdrawal: Trump’s administration was working to withdraw from the World Health Organization. Biden will end those efforts Wednesday.
▪ COVID Response Coordinator: Biden will use an executive order to create the position, which will be responsible for “coordinating all elements of the COVID-19 response across government.”
▪ Eviction and foreclosure: Biden will request that the CDC extend the federal eviction moratorium until at least March 31, that Congress provide and extend rental assistance, that the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development “consider extending foreclosure moratoriums for federally guaranteed mortgages and continuing applications for forbearance for federally guaranteed mortgages until at least March 31.”
▪ Student loans: Biden is asking the Education Department to “consider immediately extending the pause on interest and principal payments for direct federal loans” at least until Sept. 30.
Environmental issues
▪ Paris Climate agreement: Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate agreement, an international pact that aims to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming, during his first year in office. Biden will “sign the instrument” to rejoin.
▪ Rolling back Trump’s orders: Biden will sign an executive order directing federal agencies and departments to review the Trump administration’s regulations and actions and “take appropriate action” to address them.
▪ Biden will also re-establish the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases and will revoke executive orders made under the Trump administration that “do not serve the U.S. national interest.” That will include Keystone XL pipeline permit.
Equity and preventing discrimination
▪ Launching a government initiative: Biden will sign an executive order to establish “equity across federal policymaking and rooting out systemic racism and other barriers to opportunity from federal programs and institutions.” Under the order, Biden will also rescind Trump’s “1776 Commission,” which promoted “patriotic education” and will do away with his limits on diversity training in federal agencies.
▪ LGBTQ rights: Biden will sign an executive order to ensure Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is interpreted to prohibit “workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.” The order will also direct agencies to ensure “federal anti-discrimination statutes that cover sex discrimination prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ persons.”
Immigration
▪ Census count: Biden will halt Trump’s efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the U.S. Census Bureau’s count, which is supposed to include citizens and noncitizens.
▪ DACA: The president will sign a memorandum directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which temporarily prevented some people brought to the U.S. illegally as children from being deported. Trump had attempted to overturn DACA.
▪ Reversing the “Muslim ban”: Biden will sign an executive order to end the travel ban. The Trump administration enacted the ban, which prevented residents and refugees from several majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S.
▪ Immigration enforcement and the border wall: Biden will undo Trump’s executive orders that “directed harsh and extreme immigration enforcement.” He will also immediately pause construction on the border wall.
▪ Deferred Enforced Departure: Biden will extend the Deferred Enforced Departure, or DED, designation for Liberians until June 30, 2022. The DED allows individuals from certain countries facing conflict or natural disaster to stay in the U.S.
Other actions
▪ Ethics pledge: Biden is ordering every executive branch appointee to sign an ethics pledge promising to act in the interests of the American people.
▪ Regulations: Biden will revoke the Trump Administration’s regulatory process executive orders “to remove those needless obstacles to regulating in the public’s interest.” White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain will also prevent any regulations the Trump administration tried to finalize before his term ended from moving forward in order to give Biden’s administration a chance to review them.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 3:47 PM.
