For almost two years Joe Biden has told Americans what he plans to do on his first day in office – and the next 99 – if he is elected the country’s 46th president.
In speeches, interviews, and in at least 49 published plans during his presidential campaign, Mr. Biden spoke of the actions he would take in the early days of his administration – what he would do if he triumphed in what he saw as a ” battle for the soul of the nation ‘against President Trump.
Upcoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain posted a memo on Saturday outlining the intent of Mr. four years, and others to address issues that persisted during various administrations.
The initiatives include a dozen executive actions that he can only take as president on the first day of his tenure, January 20. Here are a few of the highlights:
Respond to COVID-19
Overthrow Trump actions
- Rejoin the Paris climate agreement;
- End the so-called ‘Muslim ban’ on travel, which in 2017 restricted travel and immigration to the US from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, before Eritrea, Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Tanzania was added to.
Klain said the president-elect would continue to roll out other executive actions during the first two weeks of the new government.
In his 562-day presidential campaign, Mr. Biden also made other “first day” promises – here’s the list:
Day one promises
- COVID-19 response: Re-join the World Health Organization;
- Immigration: Send bill to Congress “for legislative immigration reform that will modernize our immigration system and”
- Climate change: Sign executive order to formulate a plan to achieve a 100% clean energy economy and net zero emissions by 2050;
- Transgender Rights: Transgender Military Ban Repealed by President Trump; Mr. Biden would also restore Obama-era guidelines for transgender students in schools to “protect students’ access to sports, bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identities”; and
- Environment: Issue an executive order “to conserve 30% of America’s land and waters by 2030.”
First 100 days
Mr. Biden will trust Congress to approve many of the initiatives he aims to achieve for his first 100 days, which could potentially be difficult even with the small majority that will be in the hands of the Democrats. Here are some of those promises:
- Economic recovery: Launch a “Build Back Better” economic recovery plan at a joint session of Congress in February. The plan, released in the general election, called for trillions of dollars to be spent on US products, health services and infrastructure updates.
- Climate: Organize a “global climate summit” to encourage world leaders to address climate change more aggressively, in particular by tackling global shipping and aviation emissions. This is one of the priorities set by Mr. Biden that does not require congressional approval. The new president also promised to “put pressure” on China to stop subsidizing coal and “outsource” pollution.
- Withdrawal of tax cuts: To pay for many of these wishlist items, Mr. Biden said he would fight for the repeal of the 2017 tax cuts, which would require Congress to take action. He argued that the tax cuts were in favor of wealthy Americans.
- Rifles: After the FBI investigates “loopholes in the gun.” background check system, Mr. Biden said he would ask Congress to close the “loopholes” and also withdraw liability protections for arms manufacturers, which could allow Americans to sue the arms industry if a weapon is used in a crime. Biden also said he wants to “restructure” federal agencies overseeing gun laws.
- Violence: As a senator, Mr. Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 to provide greater protection for women. This legislation must be re-signed into law. Biden said one of the main efforts in the update would be more protection for transgender women.
- Equality: Push to pass the “Equality Act”, a bill to add more protections for LGBT Americans.