Written by Aishvarya Kavi
In 17 government orders, memorandums and proclamations signed hours after his inauguration, President Joe Biden moved swiftly Wednesday to dismantle Trump administration insurance policies his aides stated have brought about the “greatest damage” to the nation.
Despite an inaugural tackle that referred to as for unity and compromise, Biden’s first actions as president have been sharply aimed toward sweeping apart former President Donald Trump’s pandemic response, reversing his environmental agenda, tearing down his anti-immigration insurance policies, bolstering the teetering financial restoration and restoring federal efforts to advertise range.
Here’s a have a look at what the measures goal to perform.
On the Pandemic
Biden signed an government order appointing Jeffrey Zients because the official COVID-19 response coordinator who will report back to the president, in an effort to “aggressively” gear up the nation’s response to the pandemic. The order additionally restores the directorate for world well being safety and biodefense on the National Security Council, a bunch Trump had disbanded.
Though it’s not a nationwide masks mandate, which might most certainly fall to a authorized problem, Biden is requiring social distancing and the sporting of masks on all federal property and by all federal workers. He can also be beginning a “100 days masking challenge” urging all Americans to put on masks and state and native officers to implement public measures to forestall the unfold of the coronavirus.
Biden can also be reinstating ties with the World Health Organization after the Trump administration selected to withdraw the nation’s membership and funding final yr. Dr. Anthony Fauci will head the U.S. delegation to the group’s government board and can soar into the position with a gathering this week.
On Immigration
With an government order, Biden bolstered the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects from deportation immigrants dropped at the United States as youngsters, usually referred to as Dreamers. Trump searched for years to finish this system, referred to as DACA. The order additionally calls on Congress to enact laws offering everlasting standing and a path to citizenship for these immigrants.
Another government order revokes the Trump administration’s plan to exclude non-citizens from the census rely, and one other overturns a Trump government order that pushed aggressive efforts to seek out and deport unauthorized immigrants. Yet one other order blocks the deportation of Liberians dwelling within the United States.
In a blow to one among his predecessor’s earliest actions to restrict immigration, Biden additionally ended the so-called Muslim ban, which blocked journey to the United States from a number of predominantly Muslim and African international locations. Biden directed the State Department to restart visa processing for people from the affected international locations and to develop methods to deal with the hurt brought about to those that have been prevented from coming to the United States due to the ban.
Biden additionally halted development of Trump’s border wall with Mexico. The order contains an “immediate termination” of the nationwide emergency declaration that allowed the Trump administration to redirect billions of {dollars} to the wall. It says the administration will start “a close review” of the legality of the hassle to divert federal cash to fund the wall.
On Climate Change
Chief amongst government orders that start to sort out the problem of local weather change, Biden signed a letter to reenter the United States within the Paris local weather accords, which it should formally rejoin 30 days from now. In 2019, Trump formally notified the United Nations that the United States would withdraw from the coalition of practically 200 international locations working to maneuver away from planet-warming fossil fuels like coal, oil and pure fuel.
In extra government orders, Biden started the reversal of a slew of the Trump administration’s environmental insurance policies, together with revoking the allow for the Keystone XL pipeline; reversing rollbacks to car emissions requirements; undoing selections to slash the scale of a number of nationwide monuments; implementing a short lived moratorium on oil and pure fuel leases within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and reestablishing a working group on the social prices of greenhouse gasses.
On Racial and LGBTQ Equality
Biden will finish the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission, which launched a report Monday that historians stated distorted the position of slavery within the United States, amongst different historical past. Biden additionally revoked Trump’s government order limiting the flexibility of federal companies, contractors and different establishments to carry range and inclusion coaching.
The president designated Susan Rice, head of his Domestic Policy Council, as chief of a “robust, interagency” effort requiring all federal companies to make “rooting out systemic racism” central to their work. His order directs the companies to evaluation and report on fairness of their ranks inside 200 days, together with a plan on take away obstacles to alternatives in insurance policies and applications. The order additionally strikes to make sure that Americans of all backgrounds have equal entry to federal authorities assets, advantages and providers. It begins an information working group in addition to the examine of latest strategies to measure and assess federal fairness and variety efforts.
Another government order reinforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that the federal authorities doesn’t discriminate on the premise of sexual orientation or gender identification, a coverage that reverses motion by Trump’s administration.
On the Economy
Biden is transferring to increase a federal moratorium on evictions and has requested companies, together with the Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development departments, to lengthen a moratorium on foreclosures on federally assured mortgages that was enacted in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The extensions all run by no less than the tip of March.
The president can also be transferring to proceed a pause on federal scholar mortgage curiosity and principal funds by the tip of September, though progressive teams and a few congressional Democrats have pushed Biden to go a lot additional and cancel as much as $50,000 in scholar debt per individual.
On Government Accountability
Following within the footsteps of a few of his predecessors, Biden has established ethics guidelines for individuals who serve in his administration that goal “to restore and maintain trust in the government.” He has ordered all of his appointees within the government department to signal an ethics pledge.
Finally, Biden issued a freeze on all new laws put in movement by his predecessor to offer his administration time to guage which of them it desires to maneuver ahead. The memorandum is aimed toward stopping so-called midnight laws, insurance policies pushed by by a lame-duck president unconstrained by electoral concerns. The quick tempo usually cuts quick the chance for the general public or business to evaluation the insurance policies.