After five weeks in office, Biden has fallen short of his former boss, Barack Obama, in several areas and is under pressure to do more to restore confidence in the federal government following Trump’s chaotic term in the White House.
Among the criticisms: The rosters for the president and vice president are not posted online. The White House comment line is closed. There are no citizen petitions on the White House website. The White House has committed to release visitor logs. But it does not intend to disclose the names of participants in virtual meetings, which are the main means of interaction, until the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
And while Biden has received compliments for keeping the American public informed, primarily by resuming daily White House press conferences, he doesn’t have a press conference of his own yet.
“The steps they have taken are welcome, but insufficient for the moment and the need,” said Alex Howard, an open government advocate who leads the Digital Democracy Project at the Demand Progress Educational Fund, a branch of a left-wing group. “They need to ‘show their work’ by opening cabinet meetings, releasing information and using political capital to emphasize that ‘being open by default’ is not just an option, but an obligation for the entire government.”