Fast moves to unravel Trump's legacy
Joe Biden began dismantling the legacy of his predecessor Wednesday night faster than any other incoming president in the modern era.
Aides said he would sign up to 15 executive orders on his first evening in the Oval Office, far more than other recent presidents, aimed at halting or reversing some of Donald Trump’s most controversial policies. That was set to turn into a flood of actions over Biden’s first 10 days as he sought to implement measures without waiting for approval by Congress. Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, said: “There are many more to come. His focus is on moving the country forward.”
Signing several actions in front of reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, Biden said there was “no time to waste” in issuing the executive orders, memorandums and directives.
“Some of the executive actions I’m going to be signing today are going to help change the course of the COVID crisis, we’re going to combat climate change in a way that we haven’t done so far and advance racial equity and support other underserved communities” said Biden. “These are just all starting points.”
Biden’s immediate priority was the pandemic, and his first action was an executive order that all U.S. government employees wear masks, and that face coverings become mandatory on federal property.
He has already urged all Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious diseases expert who had a fractious relationship with Trump, will deliver a speech on Thursday to the WHO, setting out how the Biden administration will proceed on the pandemic.
Biden signed a document to begin the process of re-entering the Paris climate accord and issued a sweeping order tackling climate change, including revoking the presidential permit granted to the Keystone XL pipeline.
The president was also instituting a temporary moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which was authorized by Trump.
Immigration was a major focus with at least six of his opening executive orders addressing the issue. Biden revoked Trump’s emergency declaration that helped fund the construction of a border wall and ended a travel ban on some majority-muslim countries.
In addition, Biden intended to immediately announce an immigration bill that would open an eightyear path to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.
According to aides, the orders intended to show Biden’s determination to “re-engage in the world.”