WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed over a dozen executive actions on just hours after entering the White House on Wednesday, undoing several of the key policies former President Donald Trump put into place.
Mr. Biden’s actions come just hours after being sworn in as 46th President of the United States. One of the first orders is mandate the wearing of masks on federal property, something the President has been calling for since the early days of the pandemic.
Other executive actions Mr. Biden signed include rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change, repealing Trump’s travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries, and to stop construction of the Southern border wall.
“There’s no time to start like today,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office.
Mr. Biden used the first day in the Oval Office to introduce a sweeping immigration reform bill. The moves by the President offer a new vision for how America will tackle some of its biggest crisis to date.
The Biden administration also put forward a plan to cancel the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S. as well as commit to his cause to tackle global warming by rejoining the Paris climate agreement.
“I’m going to start by keeping the promises I made to the American people,” Biden said.
With one signature, Mr. Biden stopped the funding for the construction of Trump’s border wall, the major promise the former president did not fulfill. He also stopped the U.S. from departing from the World Health Organization, allowing Dr. Anthony Fauci to lead the U.S. delegation.
Mr. Biden’s first full day in office on Thursday will focus completely on the coronavirus pandemic and Friday will be centered around the theme of economic relief – including directing agency action on safety net programs, including Medicaid and unemployment insurance.
Next Monday will see the President sign an executive order cementing requirements for government purchases of goods and services from American companies. Meanwhile, next month will see Mr. Biden focus on “restoring America’s place in the world.”
