WASHINGTON (AP) – In his first hours as president, Joe Biden will try to attack the heart of President Donald Trump’s political legacy by signing a series of executive actions which reverse the orders of its predecessor on immigration, climate change and treatment of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, Biden will complete construction of Trump’s border wall with the United States and Mexico, end travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries, and rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization and revoke approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, the aides said Tuesday. The new president will sign the orders almost immediately after taking the oath of office at the Capitol, pivoting quickly from its small opening ceremony to enacting its agenda.
The 15 executive actions are an attempt to rewind basically the last four years of federal policies with astonishing speed. Only two recent presidents signed executive actions on the first day of office, and each signed only one. But Biden, in the face of the debilitating coronavirus pandemic, intends to demonstrate a sense of urgency and competence that, according to him, was lacking under his predecessor.
“I think the most important thing to say is that a new day begins tomorrow,” said Jeff Zients, Biden’s choice to lead a new White House office that will coordinate the federal government’s renewed response to the pandemic.
In fact, Biden began the day by noting that he would try to return to Washington traditions and the normalcy that his predecessor revalidated. When Trump, who refused to attend Biden’s inauguration, left Washington Wednesday morning, Biden and his family headed to St. Matthew’s Apostle’s Cathedral, the historic church where the funeral mass was held. by John F. Kennedy. The president-elect was joined by leaders of the Democratic and Republican Congress for service, a gesture that points to the bipartisanship he hopes to inspire in the fight against the pandemic.
Biden’s first actions go far beyond the current health crisis. He intends to order a review of all Trump regulations and executive actions that are deemed harmful to the environment or public health. It will order federal agencies to prioritize racial equity and review policies that reinforce systemic racism. It will revoke a Trump order that sought to exclude citizens from the census and order federal employees to promise an ethical promise that will commit them to maintaining the independence of the Justice Department.
Susan Rice, Biden’s new domestic policy adviser, said the new president would also revoke Trump’s recently released “1776 Commission” report to promote “patriotic education.”
These actions will be followed by dozens more in the next ten days, aides said, as Biden seeks to redirect the country without having to go through a Senate that Democrats control by the narrowest margin.
In particular, the opening actions did not include immediate measures to rejoin Iran’s nuclear deal, which Trump abandoned and Biden has pledged to reimplement. Jen Psaki, the new White House press secretary, said that while they were not included in Biden’s Day One orders, the new president will revoke in the coming days the ban on Pentagon military service by the North -Transgender Americans, as well as the so-called Mexico City. policy, which prohibits U.S. funding for international organizations that perform or refer women to abortion services.
Psaki said the actions that should be taken on Wednesday focused on providing “immediate relief” to Americans.
In another effort to signal the return to pre-Trump times, Psaki said he would hold a briefing Wednesday afternoon as a symbol of the administration’s commitment to transparency. Trump’s White House had virtually abandoned the practice of reporting journalists daily.
Biden will sign the shares during his first visit to the oval office in four years. Since then, presidential actions have often been marked by clumsy announcements and confusion. In his early days in office, the Trump team was forced to rewrite executive orders by court order and aides took days to figure out how to use the White House intercom to alert the press about events. Repeatedly canceled plans to advertise new construction programs, called “Infrastructure Week,” became a national punch line. Instead, Biden’s assistants want to prove they are ready for work from the door.
Biden’s senior aides, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed and Head of Campaign Policy Stef Feldman, began drawing up executive action plans in November, just days after Biden won the presidency and writing began. in December. Career staff at the Justice Department’s legal advice office reviewed the final documents in the last few weeks before swearing in Biden to make sure they would pass the legal contract.
Biden’s team would begin taking over the reins of power even before the Marine Band finished its rendition of “Hail to the Chief” after the new president took the oath of office.
Assistants were to begin entering the White House complex at noon (when Biden officially takes office) to begin overseeing national security functions. Urgency was accelerated by security concerns surrounding the inauguration following the US Capitol uprising.
Restrictions on COVID-19, along with tight security around the inauguration, severely reduced the number of attendees in the west wing of Biden. Because of the pandemic protocols, the aides were told, according to an official, to pack snacks in their offices.