Republican resistance
Biden faces virus crisis on Day One, with GOP resistance possible
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden will arrive at the White House on Jan. 20 at a crucial juncture in America’s fight against COVID-19. In the weeks before he takes office, the winter season is expected to further the virus’ unrelenting spread as the U.S. holds out hope a vaccine will soon eradicate a pandemic that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives and decimated the economy.
The president-elect has vowed to implement a swift and aggressive national approach to fighting COVID-19 by implementing a federal mask mandate and working with governors to impose similar restrictions at a local level, expanding testing and contact tracing efforts and using a more evidence-based approach in issuing guidance.
But his legacy will partly hinge on the daunting test of controlling a spiraling pandemic that has arrested the country for nearly a year and repairing the economic damage it has wrought.
Biden aides insisted a clear federal strategy will unify a deeply divided nation despite the Trump administration’s refusal to cooperate with his transition team.
Jake Sullivan, a senior Biden policy adviser, said the president-elect’s plan is not defined by overly restrictive measures and instead focuses on national guidance that can be tailored to local situations.
“It is not about shutting the whole economy down, but it’s about actually taking the kinds of steps that can help you avoid full shutdown,” Sullivan said.
Biden’s coronavirus blueprint includes implementing a federal mask mandate, which would extend to federal buildings and interstate transportation, and convincing governors to do the same at a local level.
He also wants to expand free testing, create a job corps of 100,000 people to contact trace, work toward keeping schools open and create a racial disparities task force for communities that have been hit the hardest.
Although Republicans have largely resisted calls for mandatory face coverings, a growing number of GOP governors have reversed course as the outbreak continues to escalate in nearly every state.
The president-elect was scheduled to virtually meet with governors Thursday, according to the Biden campaign.
Sullivan said the COVID-19 advisory board has begun reaching out to the patchwork of public health departments in recent weeks and plans to directly engage governors and mayors in the coming days about convergence around a national approach.
“We’re not blind to the politics and the different perspectives people have, but we are heartened by what seems to be a growing understanding across the board about the severity of this surge, and the need to take measures to respond to it,” Sullivan said.
A dangerous delay
But as the Biden transition team continues work toward a unified approach, health experts – his own and some already in government – warn the country could suffer dire consequences if the rise in cases continues while the incoming administration is delayed from coordinating with federal agencies.
A new study released Tuesday found a late start for Biden’s transition team could hamper his ability to make key appointments for COVID-19 and national security-related positions. The Center for Presidential Transition at the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service examined how quickly confirmations happened for President George W. Bush, whose transition did not begin until he was declared the winner on Dec. 13, 2000, and President Barack Obama. Obama was able to confirm twice as many senior officials as Bush during the first 100 days of their presidencies.
“Trump is allowing the pandemic to spread to the point where the Biden administration will have no choice but to implement aggressive tactics,” said Jack Chow, a U.S. ambassador for global HIV/AIDS during the George W. Bush administration and a former World Health Organization assistant director general.
A group of the nation’s top doctors sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday urging the Trump administration to begin sharing COVID-19 information with the Biden transition team in order to “save countless lives.”