What Joe Biden promised to do on “Day One” and in his first 100 days as president
For almost two years, Joe biden told Americans what he plans to do on the first day of his term – and the next 99 – if elected the country’s 46th president.
In speeches, interviews and in at least 49 published articles plans Throughout 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.
New White House chief of staff Ron Klain distributed a memo on Saturday reiterating Mr Biden’s intention to keep several of his promises – some aimed at immediate action to stop the coronavirus pandemic, others to cancel the steps President Trump has taken over the past four years, and others to address issues that have persisted through several administrations.
The initiatives include a dozen executive actions that he can implement on his own as president on the first day of his term, Jan. 20. Here are some of the highlights:
Respond to COVID-19
Reversing Trump’s Actions
- Join the Paris climate agreement;
- End the so-called “Muslim ban” on travel, which in 2017 restricted travel and immigration to the United States from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, before adding Eritrea, Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Tanzania in 2020.
Klain said the president-elect will continue to deploy other executive actions throughout the first two weeks of the new administration.
During his 562-day presidential campaign, Mr. Biden also made other ‘someday’ promises – here’s the list:
The promises of the first day
- COVID-19 response: Join the World Health Organization;
- Immigration: Send Bill to Congress “For Legislative Immigration reform which will modernize our immigration system and almost give 11 million undocumented immigrants a roadmap to citizenship; “
- Climate change: Sign the decree to formulate plan achieve 100% clean energy savings and net zero emissions by 2050;
- Transgender rights: Repeal the military ban on transgender people enacted by President Trump; Mr Biden would also reinstate Obama-era guidelines for transgender students in schools, to protect “students’ access to sports, washrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity”; and
- Environment: Enact an executive order “to conserve 30% of US lands and waters by 2030.”
First 100 days
Mr Biden will count on Congress to approve many of the initiatives he aims to accomplish in his first 100 days, which could be potentially difficult, even with the slight majority that will be held by Democrats. Here are some of those promises:
- Economic recovery : Launch the “Build back better” economic stimulus plan in February, during a joint session of Congress. Released in the general election, the plan called for spending trillions of dollars on US-made products, health services and infrastructure updates.
- Weather: Organize a “global climate summit” to push world leaders to tackle climate change more aggressively, specifically addressing global emissions from shipping and aviation. This is one of the priorities set by Mr. Biden that does not require congressional approval. The new president also pledged to “pressure” China to stop subsidizing coal and “outsource” pollution.
- Cancellation of tax cuts: In order to pay for many of those wishlist items, Mr Biden has said he will fight for the repeal of the 2017 tax cuts, which will require action from Congress. He argued that the tax cuts favor wealthy Americans.
- Fire arms : After the FBI investigates the “loopholes” in the weapon background check system, Biden said he would call on Congress to close “loopholes” and also repeal gunmaker liability protection, which would allow Americans to sue the gun industry if a firearm is used in a crime. Biden also said he wanted to “restructure” the federal agencies that oversee gun laws.
- Violence: As a senator, Mr. Biden drafted the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 to provide more protections for women. This legislation needs to be re-enacted. Biden said a key effort in the update will include greater protections for transgender women.
- Equality: Push to pass the “Equality Act”, a bill to add more protections for LGBT Americans.
