Transfer of power - Jan. 21, 2021
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We hope you have enjoyed our coverage leading up to President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.’s first days in office. Please, let us know what you think by taking this quick survey.
Now, let’s look at the latest news:
On his second day in office, President Biden will sign 10 pandemic-related executive orders to address inequities in hard-hit communities.
He will also direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fully reimburse states for the cost of National Guard personnel and emergency supplies deployed for the pandemic.
The impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump has not been scheduled, but Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell have discussed ground rules, according to reports.
Protesters upset with Biden’s election gathered in some U.S. cities on Inauguration Day, including Portland, Boston and Seattle. A group in Portland marched to the Democratic Party of Oregon headquarters with a “We don’t want Biden — we want revenge!” banner, eventually smashing windows and spraying graffiti on the building.
What ranks first on a packed schedule
President Joe Biden’s first full day in office included signing additional executive orders and attending briefings related to a top worry for Americans: the coronavirus pandemic.
The president planned to sign 10 executive orders and directives related to the virus. McClatchy writes that Biden will take action “to ensure states are fully reimbursed for the cost of National Guard personnel and emergency supplies deployed for the pandemic, a relief for states across the country facing budget crises.”
Credit: Alex Brandon, AP
Tim Manning, the Biden administration’s COVID-19 supply coordinator, stated that, “The president will issue a memorandum directing FEMA to increase the federal reimbursement to states from 75% to 100% of the costs for both National Guard personnel and emergency supplies, including those needed for safely reopening schools.”
The Biden administration also has a goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in its first 100 days. It is reviewing the Trump administration’s strategy of allocating vaccines to states, and officials said “they could not determine yet whether a change in strategy would be necessary.”
In the meantime, Biden plans to invoke the Defense Production Act “to ramp up production of key equipment in the fight against COVID-19 that have been in short supply throughout the pandemic,” reports McClatchy.
Additionally, the administration intends to quickly set up mass coronavirus vaccination centers across the country and encourage states to speed through groups prioritized to receive the vaccines first.
The president’s new coronavirus task force will also be officially established on Thursday.
Next up
Biden has also set to work at reversing many of the immigration policies enacted by former President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, he “proposed sweeping new legislation that would overhaul the country’s immigration system, part of a broader effort to signal his administration considers the issue a priority even as it prepares to grapple with an ongoing pandemic and economy that has lost tens of millions of jobs,” writes McClatchy.
His actions so far on this front “signal how Biden plans a new direction for the country’s immigration policy, one that emphasizes a less restrictive approach to immigrants and what White House officials call a more humane approach to border security.”
Biden is also signing an executive order directing a revision of fuel economy standards. The Sacramento Bee notes that it’s a “stark reversal from the Trump administration that for years battled California’s effort to maintain a strict cap on emissions from cars.”
The new policy is part of a larger order directing his administration to “roll back President Trump’s environmental actions in order to protect public health and the environment,” the Bee added.
Biden also committed the United States to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, a global pact to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
One thing that’s staying the same during the first days of the Biden administration? Christopher Wray will remain the Federal Bureau of Investigation director.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 2:52 PM.