Biden makes a busy start
US President-elect Joe Bidenmade a sober entrance to the nation’s capital, ready to assume power as America reels from the coronavirus pandemic, soaring unemployment and grave concerns about more violence as he prepares to take the oath of office.
Biden, an avid fan of Amtrak, had planned to take a train into Washington, DC yesterday ahead of today’s Inauguration Day, but scratched that plan in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. He instead flew into a military airbase just outside the capital, then rode by motorcade into a city that’s been flooded by some 25,000 National Guard troops guarding a Capitol, White House and National Mall wrapped in a maze of barricades and tall fencing.
Shortly before Biden departed for Washington, the US reached another grim milestone in the pandemic, surpassing 400,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Biden, who ran for the presidency as a cool head who could get things done, plans to issue a series of executive orders on Day One – including reversing President Donald Trump’s effort to leave the Paris climate accord, cancelling his travel ban on visitors from several predominantly Muslim countries, and extending pandemic-era limits on evictions and student loan payments.
Inauguration organisers have installed some 200,000 US, state and territorial flags on the National Mall, representing the American people who couldn’t come to the inauguration due to tight security and Covid-19 restrictions.
Out of the starting gate, Biden and his team are intent on moving quickly to speed up the distribution of vaccinations to anxious Americans and pass his US$1.9 trillion (NZ$2.66T) virus relief package, which includes quick payments to many people and an increase in the minimum wage to US$15 (NZ$21) an hour.
Biden also plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on the first day of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the US without legal status. This would be a major reversal from the Trump administration’s tight immigration policies.
But his legislative ambitions could be tempered by the hard truth he faces on Capitol Hill, where Democrats hold narrow majorities in both the Senate and the House. His hopes to press forward with an avalanche of legislation in his first 100 days could also be slowed by an impeachment trial of Trump.
As Biden prepared to make his way to Washington, five of his
Cabinet picks – Treasury nominee Janet Yellen, defence nominee Lloyd Austin, Homeland Security nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of state nominee Antony Blinken, and director of national intelligence nominee Avril Haines – were appearing before Senate committees to begin confirmation hearings. Yellen urged lawmakers to embrace Biden’s virus relief package, arguing ‘‘the smartest thing we can do is act big’’.
Aides said Biden would use his inaugural address – delivered in front of an unusually small inperson group because of virus protocols and security concerns – to call for American unity and offer an optimistic message that Americans can get past the dark moment by working together.
As Biden presses bipartisanship, he is also facing pressure from his Democrat Party’s left to go big right away, with the progressive wing of the party calling on Senate Democrats to help by doing away with the chamber’s filibuster.
Ahead of Biden’s arrival, 12 US Army National Guard members were removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or to have posted extremist views online, according to two US officials.
There was no threat to Biden, they said.