On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed several executive actions, some of which reversed the decisions of his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
The executive measures will change the US response to COVID-19 and try to ease some of the financial pressure on Americans as a result of the pandemic. But other executive actions directly target and reverse Mr. Trump’s actions Area, immigration, the U.S. Census, and regulatory changes.
Mr. Biden signed three executive orders in the presence of reporters: he implemented a mask mandate on federal property, increased support for disadvantaged communities and rejoined the Paris climate accord.
“I thought there was no time to wait. Get to work right away,” he told reporters.
Evan Vucci / AP
Mr. Biden called the letter Mr. Trump left for him very “generous” but said he would not disclose the contents because they are “private.”
Top incoming advisers from Biden’s White House outlined and described the actions during a press call Tuesday evening. Biden assistants also promised more would come.
“In the coming days and weeks, we will announce additional executive actions that will address these challenges and deliver on the President-elect’s promises to the American people, including repealing the ban on military service by transgender Americans and rolling it back. Mexico City policy, “incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Below is CBS News’s breakdown of Mr. Biden’s first 15 executive orders and the two executive actions he would sign on Wednesday:
COVID-19 response
Start a “100 Days Masking Challenge”, calls for a nationwide face mask and mandate for social distancing in federal buildings, on federal lands, and by federal employees and contractors.
Restructuring of federal government coordination towards the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden’s White House reiterates an Obama-era position called “Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense,” which was organized with additional staff within the National Security Council after the 2014 Ebola epidemic. This director’s office had been split into other roles during the Trump administration, but Biden and his campaign advisers argued that the move reduced the federal government’s readiness for the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Biden will also formally implement a “Response Coordinator” who will report to the President on the production, supply and distribution of vaccines, testing and personal protective equipment. Mr. Biden has appointed Jeff Zients, who oversaw Mr. Biden’s COVID-19 team for the presidential transition.
Rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO), who was leaving the Trump administration. Mr. Biden also wants to restore the US as an active leader with the WHO.
Financial Aid for Americans
Extend expulsion and exclusion moratoriums. To do this, Biden will appeal to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reenter and extend the already-lifted moratorium until at least March 31. The new president will also call on the Ministries of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs to extend execution moratoriums for their federally secured mortgages. “These emergency measures are important,” said Brian Deese, chief economic adviser to Mr. Biden, during the call with reporters, “There are more than 11 million mortgages guaranteed by the VA, the Department of Agriculture and the HUD that would be renewed.”
Continue to “pause” student loan payments until September 30th. The Biden advisers continue to argue that Biden is still backing his campaign promise to cancel $ 10,000 from it student grantsbut this will take a while as it has to go through Congress.
Environment
Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. The climate negotiations in Paris took place under the Obama administration and were led by the incoming Tsar John Kerry, when he was Secretary of State. It takes 30 days for this to take effect.
Terminate Keystone XL pipeline and stop oil and gas development at National Natural Landmarks. To do this, Biden’s climate advisor Gina McCarthy explained that the Biden administration will discard or rerun more than 100 “harmful” presidential proclamations, memoranda or permits signed by the Trump administration that the new administration considers harmful to the environment. .
License revocation will effectively destroy the Keystone pipeline. Mr. Biden will also reverse the 2020 decision of the Trump administration to allow land development at the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah and at the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monuments in New England, which reserved for wildlife. protection by former President Obama in 2016. Other changes include mandating agencies to “consider reviewing fuel economy and vehicle emission standards” and placing federal working groups to address greenhouse gases, according to a review of executive orders.
Human Rights
Actions to promote racial equality through the federal government. Incoming domestic policy adviser Susan Rice explained that President Biden wants every federal agency to judge fairness in their programs and actions. For example, with this executive action, the Office of Management and Budget will analyze whether federal money is being distributed fairly into communities of color and other places of need, the executive action outlines said. Rice also said Trump’s “harmful” 1776 Commission, the 18-member council he formulated in September, will be discontinued. The purpose of the committee was to study the president’s concern that the American education system had too liberal an approach to American history.
Count non-citizens in the US census again. This reverses President Trump’s July 2020 order not to count undocumented Americans, which would affect federal allocation of money and federal representation. Rice said on Wednesday’s press call that Trump was an “approach that is inconsistent with the Constitution and the Census Act and inconsistent with our nation’s history and our commitment to representative democracy.” The Biden team’s outline of the executive order said that Biden “ will ensure that the Census Bureau has time to complete an accurate population count for each state ” and that “ he will then give a fair and Accurate distribution will present federal resources to be distributed efficiently and fairly for the next decade. ”
Strengthen the protection of workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. At agencies, this extends federal protections against sex discrimination to LGBTQ Americans.
Immigration
Defend the “Dreamers” program for undocumented young Americans. Mr. In this executive decree, Biden calls on Congress to grant permanent status and a path to citizenship to Dreamers – nearly one million young undocumented migrants brought to the country as children and protected from deportation by President Obama. The Trump administration has challenged the law, but the Supreme Court has upheld it.
End the so-called “travel ban for Muslims”, which restricted travel and immigration to the US from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen in 2017 before adding Eritrea, Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Tanzania in 2020. The State Department is also instructed to restart visa applications for these countries.
Change Trump’s Arrest Priorities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE ). This executive order will repeal the changes Mr Trump made in the first week of his presidency in 2017 to make domestic immigration enforcement much tougher. Few details were mentioned in the outline of the executive order, but the upcoming Biden White House team stated that the Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with other agencies, will “create a civil immigration enforcement policy that best suits the American people. protects and is consistent with our values and priorities. ”
Stop the construction of the rim wall. Mr Biden will end the national emergency declaration cited by the Trump administration to direct money towards the construction of the South Wall.
Keep protection for a group of Liberians in the country. Liberians who have resided in the United States for years can stay longer. Their “delayed exit from enforcement” will be extended for an additional year, until June 30, 2022. President Trump briefly considered ending this delay before eventually extending the program.
Regulation
Last-minute Trump administration regulatory measures freeze. Technically, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain will be tasked with implementing this, and a presidential memo will formally list the rules to be frozen.
Ethics
Formulate the ethical doctrine of the executive. Mr. Biden wants every appointed executive to sign an ethical pledge. The pledge also requires federal employees to pledge “to maintain the independence of the Justice Department,” the executive decision said.