On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed executive orders on housing and put an end to the use of private prisons by the Justice Department as part of what the White House calls its “racial equity agenda.”
The big picture: Biden needs the support of Congress to push for police reform or new voting rights legislation. Executive orders serve as an initial payment to immediately address systemic racism while focusing on the pandemic.
Details: Biden will lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine how previous administrations undermined fair housing policies and laws, according to senior officials.
- Another executive order orders the Attorney General not to renew the Justice Department’s contracts with privately operated criminal detention centers. The tsar of domestic policy, Susan Czar, confirmed at a press conference that the order does not apply to private immigration facilities, which belong to the Department of Homeland Security.
- An executive order calls for “restoring federal respect for tribal sovereignty” after years of tension between tribal governments and former President Trump.
- Biden also ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to examine how Trump’s rhetoric about COVID-19 could have led to discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The plot: The Biden administration indicated that the executive orders are a preview of what will come on its racial equity agenda as it prepares legislative proposals to combat discrimination and poverty.
The summary: Biden’s early moves on racial equity are a major shift in Trump’s tone, often praising Confederate General Robert E. Lee, denouncing the investigation of slavery and racial justice, and ordering agencies that they finish training in diversity.