Joe Biden’s first act as president today centered around signing a flurry of executive actions undoing much of what Donald Trump implemented through his own executive orders – like stopping border wall construction, implementing a mask mandate and ending the ‘Muslim Ban.’
Biden has ended the national emergency declaration at the U.S.-Mexico border, which allowed Trump to divert billions from the Defense Department to construction of the southern border wall.
In a promise to stop the spread of coronavirus, Biden also issued a mandate ordering mask wearing and social distancing in all federal buildings and by federal employees while they are working.
Biden’s team also announced as part of the executive orders spree, the president will dissolve Trump’s 1776 Commission.
Just two days before the presidential election, Trump established the commission by executive order, claiming the goal of the 18-member group is to write a report on the ‘core principles of the American founding.’
Trump announced he was establishing the commission following a slew of Black Lives Matter demonstrations – and he blamed the school system, claiming ‘the left-wing rioting and mayhem are the direct result of decades of left-wing indoctrination in our schools.’
Essentially the commission was created in a rebuttal to schools implementing history curriculum implying systematic racism in American institutions.
In total, Biden signed 15 executive orders he promised would take priority from the moment he entered the White House.
A priority for Biden is nixing the ban on those traveling to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries – one of Trump’s first orders as president, which was dubbed the ‘Muslim travel ban.’
While Biden plans to reverse the order, his administration vows to improve screening of visitors by strengthening information sharing with foreign governments.
During Trump’s presidency, more than 400 miles of border wall was built, whether that be new portions of the wall or improvements to existing fencing.
Biden will immediately halt ongoing construction of the wall, but will need to review active contracts and how that money could potentially be redirected.
So far, $15 billion in taxpayer dollars have been allocated for more than 700 miles of border wall.
It is still unclear how many miles are under contract and what penalties the government would have to pay if they were canceled now.
Biden will also seek to fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, a signature effort during the Obama administration that provided hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants protection from deportation and a pathway to citizenship.
He is also mandating mask wearing and social distancing in all federal buildings, on federal lands and by federal employees and contractors.
He is also challenging Americans to wear a face covering for the first 100 days of his administration.
During Trump presidency, he withdrew from several foreign organizations and pacts, which Biden plans to reenter – including the World Health Organization.
Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization in 2020 after accusing it of incompetence in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
He also claimed it caved to Chinese pressure over COVID-19 and lamented the U.S. helped fund the group too much.
Biden’s incoming White House coronavirus coordinate Jeff Zients announced top infectious disease experts at National Institute of Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci, will deliver a speech Thursday to the WHO.
In the speech as the new head of the U.S. delegation to WHO, Fauci, who often sparred with Trump over the last year, will lay out how Biden’s administration plans to work with the group on reforms.
Trump also withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord, lamenting it wasn’t fair that the U.S. was funding much of the program aimed at cutting global fossil fuel emissions while other countries, like China, contribute much more to these emissions.
Biden will sign an executive order to rejoin the Paris climate accord, fulfilling a campaign pledge to get back into the global climate pact on Day One.
It will take 30 days for the U.S. to officially be back in.
In an effort to roll back more of Trump’s climate-related orders, Biden will also revoke a presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil and gas pipeline.
He also plans to implement a temporary moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and review Trump’s freeze on vehicle and emission standards.
Federal agencies under Biden’s presidency will also be issued a new requirement to consider the impact that fossil field emissions have on climate change and how that will affect disadvantaged communities and future generations.
Finally, Biden will revoke a Trump order that sought to exclude noncitizens from the U.S. census.