Hours after Wednesday’s inauguration, President Joe Biden signed the first of dozens of planned executive orders to be enacted during the first 10 days of his presidency as the nation continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, economic hardship, and political tension in the wake of the Capitol riots earlier this month.
Seated in the Oval Office, Biden penned his first signature on a COVID-19 mask mandate on federal property and during interstate travel, before moving on to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord abandoned by President Trump in 2017 and reversing the travel ban from several Muslim-majority and African countries.
A flurry of further executive orders is expected to follow, according to a memo sent out Saturday by White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
“These actions will change the course of COVID-19, combat climate change, promote racial equity, and support other underserved communities, and rebuild our economy in ways that strengthen the backbone of this country: the working men and women who built our nation,” Klain wrote. “While the policy objectives in these executive actions are bold, I want to be clear: the legal theory behind them is well-founded and represents a restoration of an appropriate, constitutional role for the President.”
Klain added that “the list is not exhaustive” and that further actions may be added as they gain legal clearance.
In total, Biden signed 17 executive actions in his first day in office. Among them: an extension on the pause of federal student loan payments until Sept. 30, the revoking of a permit that allowed for the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and an extension of the federal eviction moratorium until at least March 31.
Biden also signed an order ceasing the withdrawal from the World Health Organization and established a White House COVID-19 team to restructure federal coordination on the pandemic. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has been preserved and fortified, and a previous order that required the Census to exclude noncitizens was rescinded. Construction of the southern border wall will be halted. Protections against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity have been strengthened in order to bolster the LGBTQ community.
The President will also order every federal agency to review racial equity among its programs and actions, such as the distribution of federal funding in communities of color. The 1776 Commission, the panel created by Trump to review “patriotic education” of American schoolchildren in apparent response to the New York Times’ 1619 Project, was disbanded.
According to Klain, Biden will sign further executive orders related to the pandemic on Thursday in a bid to safely reopen schools and businesses with actions such as expanded testing, worker protections, and the establishment of “clear public health standards.”
The following day, Biden then plans to issue actions directing his cabinet to deliver economic relief to working families, though details remain sparse for now. Through the rest of January, the President plans to strengthen “Buy American” provisions and is set to sign further orders on racial equity, climate, immigration, and reforming the criminal justice system.
Democrats also now control both houses of Congress with the election of Georgia senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. While the Senate filibuster blocks potential for some lawmaking, legislation is now a realistic avenue for further action.
