For almost two years, Joe Biden he has been telling Americans what he plans to do on his first day in office – and the next 99 – if he is elected to be the nation’s 46th president.
In speeches, interviews and at least 49 plans published during his presidential campaign, Biden spoke of the actions he would take in the early days of his administration: what would he do if he succeeded in what he considered “a battle for ‘soul of the nation’ against President Trump.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Saturday distributed a note reiterating Biden’s intention to deliver on several of his promises, some aimed at immediate action to stop the growing coronavirus pandemic, some to back the actions of the coronavirus. President Trump in the last four years, and others to address issues that have persisted in various administrations.
Initiatives include a dozen executive actions he can take alone as president on the first day of his term, Jan. 20. Here are some of the highlights:
In response to COVID-19
Turn Trump’s actions upside down
- Re-join the Paris climate agreement;
- End the so-called “Muslim ban” on travel, which in 2017 restricted travel and immigration to the United States from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, before adding Eritrea, Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Tanzania in 2020.
Klain said the president-elect would continue to carry out other executive actions during the first two weeks of the new administration.
In his 562-day presidential campaign, Biden also made other promises of the “first day”: here is the list:
The first day promises
- Answer COVID-19: Join the World Health Organization;
- Immigration: Send bill to Congress “for immigration legislative reform that modernizes our immigration system and”
- Climate change: Sign an executive order to formulate a plan to achieve a 100% net energy saving and net emissions by 2050;
- Transgender rights: Repeal the transgender military ban enacted by President Trump; Biden would also restore Obama-era guidelines for transgender students in schools, to protect “students’ access to sports, restrooms, and locker rooms according to their gender identity;” i
- Environment: Decree an executive order “to conserve 30% of America’s land and water by 2030.”
The first 100 days
Biden will rely on Congress to approve many of the initiatives he intends to carry out during his first 100 days, which could be difficult, even with the small majority that Democrats will have. Here are some of these promises:
- Economic recovery: Start the “Build Back Better” economic recovery plan in February, during a joint session of Congress. Published during the general election, the plan was to spend billions on American-made products, health services and infrastructure upgrades.
- Climate: Organize a “global climate summit” to push global leaders to fight climate change more aggressively, specifically addressing global maritime and aviation emissions. This is one of the priorities that Mr. Biden has set that does not require the approval of Congress. The new president also pledged to “pressure” China to stop subsidizing coal and “outsource” pollution.
- Repeal of tax reductions: To pay for many of these wish list items, Mr. Biden said he would fight for the repeal of the 2017 tax cuts, which would require congressional action. He argued that tax cuts favored wealthy Americans.
- Guns: After the FBI studied “cracks” in the gun check history Biden said he would ask Congress to close the “cracks” and also repeal the liability protection of gun manufacturers, which would allow Americans to sue the gun industry if a weapon is used in a crime. Biden also said he wants to “restructure” federal agencies that oversee gun laws.
- Violence: As a senator, Mr. Biden was the author of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 to provide more protection to women. This legislation needs to be re-signed. Biden said a key effort in the upgrade would include greater protections for trans women.
- Equality: Press to move the “Equality Act,” a bill to add more protections for LGBT Americans.