The first weeks of President Biden’s administration have been a striking contrast to the chaos and turmoil of the Trump administration, which has returned a sense of normalcy to the White House and the government.
Biden, along with Vice President Harris, begins each day by receiving the President’s Daily Brief, usually before 10 a.m. His administration has revived the White House’s daily briefings every day of the week.
And when he has signed executive actions, they have usually been combined with events in which the president makes script comments about politics and has rarely answered questions called from reporters.
The White House also routinely sends press releases that seem familiar. In the early days of the presidency, he issued a statement acknowledging National Adolescent Violence Awareness Month, a day that had been routinely marked by previous administrations, but which Trump ignored.
The White House re-publishes visitor records on a quarterly basis, a practice that was held under the Obama administration but was abandoned under Trump. Former Obama officials have described Biden’s cabinet as an extended family, full of people he has worked with for years and trusts.
“I think one of the main goals here was to give the presidency a sense of normalcy,” said a longtime Biden aide. “Enough of the crazy shit we lived for four years.”
After a two-hour meeting Monday with 10 Republican senators, it was not reported that anyone was insulted, which often happened when Democrats and Trump met, although there were no agreement. Sen. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins The Memo Report: Bad Jobs Increases Biden’s Stimulus Case Five Budget Marathon Grips Don’t Let This Unifying Moment Be Missed MORE (R-Me.) He described the meeting as “cordial” and expressed his gratitude to Biden for hosting them.
Biden’s tweets, written in lower case, are often mundane political missives. It’s a striking contrast to Trump’s 280-character hour megaphone, where he often chose to fight or criticize and make fun of opponents.
“It’s a lot of fun – I feel like friends on both sides of the aisle like it’s clean waking up in the morning without feeling like the day will be inflamed by a crazy tweet,” the former rep said. Steve Israel
Steven (Steve) J. IsraelBiden faces a monumental task of healing a divided country. The Hill’s Morning Report: Trump was charged again; now what? Democrats need MORE a post-Trump message, who held the presidency of the Democratic Congress Campaign Committee in the Obama era. “Even people who disagree with President Biden say we have at least returned to normalcy.”
Biden’s life outside the bubble also echoes a time before the Trump era.
He went to church his first Sunday in charge (a routine White House aides hope will continue) at the Holy Trinity in Georgetown and then ran through the bagels, with Secret Service agents ordering at the window from the popular “Call Your Mother” ”Deli.
The bidens have taken their two German shepherds, Champ and Major, to the White House with them and intend to get a cat. First lady Jill Biden
Jill Biden and Jill Biden will appear in ads that will promote the use of masks during Puppy Bowl Hunter Biden to release memoirs on April 6th. Congressional leaders pay tribute to Capitol police officer in honor MORE, who has spent most of her career as a community college professor, continues to hold a teaching position at Northern Virginia Community College.
When he was vice president, Biden also tried to maintain a certain normalcy in his life. He and Jill Biden left the Naval Observatory from time to time to capture a film. She reached the headlines to get pizza with one of her granddaughters.
He surprised an employee when it was his birthday by going to the Italian restaurant where the colleagues had met. He was also known to frequent the Brooks Brothers when he went from home to work in the 1600s in Pennsylvania.
The difference from the Trump years is stark, even those who worked in his White House recognize it.
“If you think about the early weeks of Trump’s presidency, and even the transition, it was defined by chaos and control of power,” he said. Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony ScaramucciPence, other Republican Party officials hoping to skip Trump’s expedition Kelly says Trump can’t admit to making mistakes: “His manhood is at stake here” Steve Scully of C-SPAN completes his three-month suspension MORE, who served as Trump’s communications director for 11 days.
From the beginning, Trump’s White House was marked by strong layoffs, tweets, and fights that generated intense and constant press coverage. Trump’s decisions and actions were unpredictable, even among his staff, who unlike Biden, were full of outsiders.
“Trump was elected because he had no political, governmental, or military experience,” said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “In fact, that was a selling point for him.”
He said that “in the minds of the people who voted for him, it was not a weakness, it was an advantage,” but he argued that it did not lead to “informed leadership at the top.”
Chris Lu, who served as cabinet secretary in the Obama White House, made a comparison between the new administration and the white houses of Obama, Clinton and Bush.
“It simply came to our notice then. This is what happens in a normal White House. You have a process for making political decisions, you have a message of the day, you have a president who adheres to the message. You have a sense of order, ”Lu said.
Not everything is good, as Biden, who became associated with a moderate Democrat during the campaign, faces expected pressures from the left and right as he adopts his agenda.
There have been political and family policy disputes, ranging from the size and substance of the COVID-19 relief measure – Republicans have rejected the price – to whether Biden goes too far in restricting oil drilling and gas to reduce climate change.
Still, even the White House controversies seem to be returning to normal. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki: The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Senate Dems haggles over 0.9 trillion details on COVID relief CDC says schools are safe, but Biden continues to ignore science, doctors Watch live: the White House holds a MORE press session he was criticized by conservatives this week for rejecting a question about the Space Force, the sixth military branch established under Trump. He later posted a tweet that made it clear that the Biden administration considers the Space Force important, an apparent effort to dispel criticism.
There is a stark contrast to Capitol Hill, where tensions remain high a month after an angry pro-Trump crowd attacked the Capitol. The House voted Thursday to remove First Legislative Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) From her committee’s duties as punishment for a number of controversies, including comments on the school shootings.
Both the Capitol and the White House remained fortified by large fences, which daily recalled the violence of a month earlier. Psaki told reporters this week that the perimeter would be adjusted when “it made sense from a general security standpoint.”
The Biden White House has tried to project order and control as it took over amid a deadly rise in the pandemic and a severe economic recession. Biden has also tried to manage expectations, repeatedly warning that it will take months to change the course of the virus.
Trump was elected at least in part in response to voters who disliked the Obama years and what they represented. This could suggest that there is at least some political risk to doing things the same way they did from 2009 to 2016.
Still, Democratic strategist Eddie Vale argued that voters would like Biden’s signals so far as a welcome pause.
“Just having a sense of normalcy and routine already makes people feel better, but it’s actually more effective because it’s also endowed with skills that already show people with action that we’ll be back, or I’d dare say rebuild better – from this recession and pandemic, ”he said.