WASHINGTON (AP) – In his early hours as president, Joe Biden will strive to hit the heart of President Donald Trump’s political legacy by signing a series of executive actions undoing its predecessor’s orders on immigration, climate change and dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden will end construction of the US-Mexico border wall on Wednesday, end bans on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, and rejoin the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization and withdraw approval of the Keystone XL oil pipelineassistants said Tuesday. The new president will sign the orders almost immediately after taking the oath of office in the Capitol, quickly turning from his watered-down inauguration ceremony to the execution of his agenda.
The 15 executive actions are an attempt to essentially rewind the past four years of federal policy with remarkable speed. Only two recent presidents signed executive actions on their first day in office – and each signed just one. But Biden faces the debilitating coronavirus pandemic, intends to demonstrate a sense of urgency and competence that he claims was lacking under his predecessor.
“I think the most important thing to say is that tomorrow is a new day,” said Jeff Zients, Biden’s choice to lead a new White House office that will coordinate the federal government’s renewed response to the pandemic.
Indeed, Biden started the day by indicating that he would strive for a return to the traditions of Washington and the normalcy that turned his predecessor upside down. When Trump, who refused to attend Biden’s inauguration, left Washington on Wednesday morning, Biden and his family made their way to St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral, the historic church where John F. Kennedy’s funeral mass was held. The president-elect was joined by Democratic and Republican congressional leaders for the service, a nod to the duality he hopes to inspire in the fight against the pandemic.
Biden’s initial actions extend far beyond the current health crisis. He plans to order a review of all Trump regulations and executive measures deemed harmful to the environment or public health. He will order federal agencies to prioritize racial equality and review policies that reinforce systemic racism. He will revoke a Trump warrant that sought to exclude non-citizens from the census and will order federal employees to make an ethical pledge committing them to uphold the Justice Department’s independence.
Susan Rice, Biden’s new domestic policy adviser, said the new president would also retract the just-released “Commission of 1776” report to promote “patriotic education.”
These moves will be followed by dozens more over the next 10 days, aides said, as Biden tries to reroute the country without having to go through a senate controlling Democrats by the slightest margin.
Notably, the opening moves did not include immediate steps to rejoin Iran’s nuclear accord, which Trump has abandoned and Biden has promised to redeploy. Jen Psaki, the incoming White House press secretary, said that while they were not included in Biden’s Day One orders, the new president will revoke the Pentagon’s ban on military service by transgender Americans and the so-called Mexico City in the coming days. . policy, which prohibits US funding for international organizations that run or refer women for abortion services.
Psaki said the actions to be taken on Wednesday were aimed at providing “immediate relief” to Americans.
In another attempt to signal a return to pre-Trump times, Psaki said she would be holding a newsletter late Wednesday as a symbol of the administration’s commitment to transparency. Trump’s White House had all but abandoned the practice of informing reporters on a daily basis.
Biden will sign the promotions on his first visit to the Oval Office in four years. Since then, the actions of the presidential order have often been characterized by clumsy announcements and confusion. During their first days in office, Trump’s team was forced to rewrite executive orders by court order, and it took the assistants days to figure out how to use the White House intercom to notify the press of events. The repeatedly canceled plans to hype new construction programs – dubbed “Infrastructure week” – became a national punchline. Biden assistants, on the other hand, want to demonstrate that they are prepared for the job right after the gate.
Biden’s senior aides, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed and Chief of Campaign Policy Stef Feldman, began plotting executive action plans in November, just days after Biden won the presidency and drafting began in December. The latest documents were reviewed by career staff at the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in recent weeks before Biden filed for swearing-in to ensure they would pass the law.
Biden’s team was set to take the reins even before the Marine Band finished portraying “Hail to the Chief” after the new president took the oath of office.
The aides would begin entering the White House complex at the stroke of noon – when Biden officially takes over the office – to oversee national security roles. The urgency was hastened by security concerns surrounding the inauguration after the Capitol uprising.
COVID-19 restrictions, along with tight security around the inauguration, severely reduced the number of assistants in Biden’s west wing. Aides, an official said, was told to pack snacks to eat in their offices due to pandemic protocols.