What to expect in Biden’s first 100 days

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden’s first days in power will be dominated by the crisis: the coronavirus pandemic and the economic emergency it has caused, as well as the fallout from the deadly Capitol Hill riot as his predecessor faces to a Senate impeachment trial.

Biden frequently speaks of the need to use the first 100 days, which have typically been a honeymoon period for new presidents, to make meaningful progress on the challenges the country faces, but the inability to find a bipartisan cooperation can cripple him before taking the oath. from the office.

Biden said last week the country was in a “crisis of deep human suffering for all to see” when he introduced a $ 1.9 trillion fundraising bill that he asked Congress to ‘adopt quickly.

The Senate already has a busy schedule. Lawmakers will need to find time to debate a fundraising bill, confirm nominees for Biden’s Cabinet and deal with the impeachment article passed last week in the House. A trial could start on the day of the inauguration.

This is not how Biden envisioned his debut in power a year ago as he fought for the Democratic Party nomination. At the time, he explained how his first 100 days would focus on reforming immigration policy, rebuilding alliances abroad, and tackling climate change.

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But any higher initiative will have to be suspended; more than 400,000 people in the United States have died from the coronavirus, with nearly 11 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits.

Here’s a description of how Biden plans to fix these issues from day one.

Coronavirus

Biden has pledged to oversee the administration of 100 million COVID-19 vaccines during his first 100 days in office, which transition officials say is still an attainable goal, even as the deployment of the vaccines promised by the Trump administration have been much slower than expected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 11.1 million doses had been administered as of Thursday.

The Trump administration has left the distribution to the states, but Biden plans to expand the role of the federal government. Biden’s team plans to set up federal mass distribution sites, as well as mobile vaccination centers for people in rural areas.

The supply of vaccines, components and materials will also be an issue, and transition officials said Biden plans to use the Defense Clearance Act to speed up production.

But Biden says he needs money from Congress to meet his vaccination goal. He asked for more than $ 400 billion to be used for vaccines, slowing the spread of the virus and reopening schools.

The plan includes $ 20 billion for a national immunization program, $ 50 billion for testing and contact tracing, and $ 30 billion for protective supplies and equipment. He is also seeking money to provide paid sick leave to encourage people to stay home if they feel sick, and he has called for the hiring of 100,000 public health workers, almost the triple the current number.

Economy

Biden will inherit an economy unable to recover from the pandemic, with unemployment stuck at nearly 7% for months.

Biden wants Congress to pass another $ 1 trillion relief package for Covid-19, calling previous efforts a “down payment.”

Biden’s plan includes $ 1,400 per person in direct payments and a federal unemployment insurance program of $ 400 per week. He’s also asking for billions of dollars for federal nutrition programs and child care providers and an increase in the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour. In addition, it is asking for $ 350 billion for states and an additional $ 35 billion for small business financing programs.

It will need the support of Congress, which holds the federal purse strings.

“A new president who has a legislative agenda tends to be most effective in his first year, because the other party has historically left the president a little more room to spend his priorities,” said Casey Dominguez, professor. of political science at the University of San Diego who wrote about the 100-day honeymoon that new presidents often enjoy with Congress.

Democrats will control both the Senate, but by a razor thin margin, and the House. It’s unclear whether Biden will enjoy a honeymoon period given the partisan polarization, Dominguez said.

A transition official said last week that members of the new administration have reached out to lawmakers and expect Congress to act quickly to pass a stimulus bill. But Biden’s team has moved away from an earlier request that Congress send them a bill to sign by the end of January, and they now say they hope a legislation will be introduced in February.

Executive actions of the first day

Although sweeping immigration reform and climate plans are no longer high on the to-do list, Biden has vowed to reverse some of Trump’s most controversial policies.

Many of Trump’s policies, such as climate deregulation, were passed through executive orders or informal advice, not congressional legislation, which means Biden can roll them back quite easily.

New White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said on inauguration day Biden “will sign about a dozen actions to tackle the four crises” – Covid-19, economy, change climate and racial inequalities.

Day one actions will include asking the education department to extend the break on student loan payments and interest, joining the Paris Climate Change Agreement, rescinding the “ban” on travel to from several Muslim-majority countries, to issue a warrant to wear masks on federal property and during interstate travel, and to expand national restrictions on deportations and seizures.

On day two, Klain said, Biden “will sign a number of executive actions to act aggressively to change the course of the Covid-19 crisis and safely reopen schools and businesses, including taking action to mitigate the spread by expanding testing, protecting workers, and setting clear public health standards. “

Other executive actions Biden expects shortly after taking office include revoking the Keystone XL pipeline permit, ending Trump’s declaration of national emergency on the southern border, stopping federal executions and the rescinding of the ban on transgender people from serving in the military, said a person familiar with the plans.

He is also expected to establish new ethics guidelines at the White House and he has promised to sign an executive order declaring that any member of his administration will be fired if found influencing a Justice Department investigation. , as Trump has been accused of doing.

Immigration

Biden is expected to come up with a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for about 11 million immigrants who are in the country without legal status.

The bill would provide an eight-year citizenship path for immigrants and a fast track for those participating in the Deferred Action Program for Childhood Arrivals, said an immigration advocate briefed on the plan.

Klain said in a note to new White House staff on Saturday that Biden would send Congress an immigration bill “on the first day of his term,” but he did not provide details.

If passed, Biden’s bill would be the biggest move to grant legal status to people in the undocumented country since President Ronald Reagan did so for nearly 3 million people in 1986.

Yet recent attempts to overhaul the immigration system have failed, and Biden’s plan is set to face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill, especially as it juggles other legislative priorities.

Biden also vowed to end some of the Trump administration’s strict immigration practices, which focused on building a border wall and restricting asylum eligibility.

Accused

No president has entered the White House to balance the establishment of his own administration and his legislative agenda during a Senate impeachment trial of his predecessor.

Trump’s trial could impose rigid rules that would delay Biden’s approval of his cabinet.

Biden and the Congressional Democrats will have to devote some of their resources early in his term to figuring out how to handle this dynamic. We still do not know on which strategy they will land.

Biden, who is set to be sworn in on Wednesday without any of his Cabinet nominees having been confirmed, said he would like the Senate to split his time between trial and hearings for his candidates, as well as to work to adopt his Covid. -19 relief bill.

“Can we spend half a day dealing with the indictment and half a day getting my people appointed and confirmed in the Senate, and taking action?” Biden asked reporters last week. “So that’s my hope and my expectations.”

Some Congressional Democrats have backed the suggestion of pursuing a dual track, while others have suggested waiting 100 days for the impeachment article to pass to the Senate while Biden gets his administration back on track.

“I think they’re going to have to work on both simultaneously,” Klain said of the Senate on Friday. “Hopefully the trial will not be a long trial.”