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WASHINGTON (AP) – In his early hours as president, Joe Biden will attempt to strike at the heart of President Donald Trump’s political legacy, signing a series of executive actions that overturn his predecessor’s orders on immigration, climate change and handling the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden on Wednesday will end construction of Trump’s border wall between the United States and Mexico, end travel bans from some Muslim-majority countries, join the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization and revoke the approval of the Keystone XL pipelineAids said Tuesday. The new president will sign the orders almost immediately after taking the oath on Capitol Hill, moving quickly from its clean opening ceremony to the implementation of its program.
The 15 Executive Actions are an attempt to essentially rewind the last four years of federal politics with startling speed. Only two recent presidents signed executive actions on their first day in office – and each has only signed one. But Biden, facing the debilitating coronavirus pandemic, intends to demonstrate a sense of urgency and competence which he believes was lacking under his predecessor.
“I think the most important thing to say is that tomorrow begins a new day,” said Jeff Zients, Biden’s choice to lead a new office in the White House that will coordinate the revamped federal response to the pandemic.
Indeed, Biden started the day by signaling that he would seek to return to Washington traditions and the normalcy his predecessor upset. As Trump, who declined to attend Biden’s inauguration, left Washington on Wednesday morning, Biden and his family drove to St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral, the historic church where the funeral mass for John F. Kennedy took place. The president-elect has been joined by Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress for service, a nod to the two-party politics he hopes to inspire in the fight against the pandemic.
Biden’s first actions go far beyond the current health crisis. He intends to order a review of all regulations and executive actions by Trump deemed harmful to the environment or public health. It will order federal agencies to prioritize racial equity and review policies that reinforce systemic racism. He will revoke a Trump order that sought to exclude non-citizens from the census and order federal employees to make an ethical pledge that commits them to maintaining the independence of the Department of Justice.
Susan Rice, Biden’s new domestic policy adviser, said the new president would also revoke the report just released by Trump’s “1776 Commission” to promote “patriotic education.”
Those actions will be followed by dozens more over the next 10 days, advisers said, as Biden seeks to redirect the country without having to go through a Senate that Democrats control by the narrowest margin.
Notably, the opening actions did not include immediate steps to join the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned. and Biden is committed to reimplementing it. Jen Psaki, the new White House press secretary, said that while they are not included in Biden’s first day orders, the new president will revoke the Pentagon’s ban on military service in the coming days. by transgender Americans as well as by so-called Mexico City. policy, which prohibits US funding for international organizations that perform or refer women to abortion services.
Psaki said measures to be taken on Wednesday focused on providing “immediate relief” to Americans.
In another effort to signal a return to pre-Trump times, Psaki said she would hold a press briefing late Wednesday as a symbol of the administration’s commitment to transparency. Trump’s White House had all but abandoned the practice of briefing reporters daily.
Biden will sign the shares on his first visit to the Oval Office in four years. Since then, the actions of the presidential order have often been marked by clumsy announcements and confusion. During their first days in office, the Trump team was forced to rewrite executive orders by court order, and aides took days to figure out how to use the White House intercom to alert the press to the issues. events. Repeatedly canceled plans to promote the new building programs – dubbed “Infrastructure Week” – have become a national strike line. Biden’s assistants, on the other hand, aim to demonstrate they’re ready for the job right off the bat.
Biden’s top aides, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed and Campaign Policy Chief Stef Feldman, began charting the executive’s action plans in November, just days after Biden won. presidency and that drafting began in December. The final documents were reviewed by career staff in the Justice Department’s legal counsel’s office in the last few weeks before Biden was sworn in to ensure they would pass the legal process.
Biden’s team was to begin assuming the reins of power even before the Navy gang completed its rendition of “Hail to the Chief” after the new president was sworn in.
Helpers were expected to begin entering the White House compound at noon – when Biden officially takes office – to begin overseeing national security roles. The emergency was accelerated by security concerns surrounding the inauguration after the U.S. Capitol uprising.
COVID-19 restrictions, along with increased security surrounding the inauguration, significantly reduced the number of aides in Biden’s west wing. Helpers, an official said, have been asked to pack snacks to eat in their offices due to pandemic protocols.
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