For almost two years, Joe Biden he told Americans what he intended to do on the first day in office – and on the next 99 – if he was elected to be the nation’s 46th president.
In speeches, interviews and at least 49 plans published during his presidential campaign, Mr Biden spoke about the actions he will take in the early days of his administration – what he would do if he triumphed in what he saw as “fight for the soul of the nation” against President Trump.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain handed out a note on Saturday reiterating Mr Biden’s intention to deliver on some of his promises – some aimed at immediate action to stop the growing coronavirus pandemic, others to return to the actions taken by President Trump over the past four years, and others to address issues that have persisted in several administrations.
The initiatives include about a dozen executive actions that he can take on his own as president on the first day of office, January 20. Here are some of the most important:
Responding to COVID-19
The overthrow of Trump’s actions
- Join the Paris climate agreement;
- End the so-called “Muslim travel ban”, which in 2017 restricted travel and immigration to the US 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 carry out other executive actions in the first two weeks of the new administration.
In his 562-day presidential campaign, Mr Biden made other “first day” promises – here is the list:
The first day promises
- Reply COVID-19: Join the World Health Organization;
- Immigration: Send the bill to Congress “for immigration legislative reform that will modernize our immigration system and”
- Climate change: Sign the executive order to formulate a plan to achieve 100% clean energy savings and zero net emissions by 2050;
- Transgender rights: Repeal of President Trump’s transgender military ban; Mr. Biden will also restore Obama-era guidance for transgender students in schools to protect “students’ access to sports, bathrooms and locker rooms according to their gender identity;” and
- Environment: Adopt an executive order “to conserve 30% of America’s land and water by 2030.”
The first 100 days
Mr. Biden will rely on Congress to approve many of the initiatives he intends to take in his first 100 days, which could be difficult, even with a small majority held by Democrats. Here are some of these promises:
- Economic recovery: Launch the “Build Better” economic recovery plan in February during a joint session of Congress. Launched during the general election, the plan called for spending billions of dollars on American-made products, health services and infrastructure upgrades.
- Climate: Organize a “global climate summit” to push world leaders to tackle climate change more aggressively, specifically addressing global maritime and aviation emissions. This is one of the priorities set by Mr. Biden, which does not require the approval of Congress. The new president also promised to “press” China to stop subsidizing coal and “outsource” pollution.
- Repeal of tax cuts: To pay for many of these wish list items, Mr Biden said he would fight to repeal the 2017 tax cuts, which would require congressional action. He argued that tax cuts favored wealthy Americans.
- Weapons: After the FBI studied the “gaps” in the gun due diligence Biden said he would ask Congress to close the “gaps” and also repeal liability protection for arms manufacturers, which would allow Americans to sue the arms industry if a weapon is used in a crime. Biden also said he wants to “restructure” federal arms law enforcement agencies.
- Violence: As a senator, Mr. Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 to provide more protection for women. This legislation must be re-signed into law. Biden said a key effort in updating would include greater protections for transgender women.
- Equality: Press to move “Equality Law”, a bill to add more protection for LGBT Americans.