Since Joe Biden announced his bid for the Presidency almost two years ago, he has spoken about his plans for his early days in office, many of them being plans to reverse regressive Trump policies.
As tomorrow is Biden’s first day as President, he has announced a specific list of promises that he will enact tomorrow, along with a longer list for his first 100 days.
At the top of his list is responding to the COVID-19 crisis, which includes: issuing a mask mandate on federal property and inter-state travel; extending nationwide restriction on home evictions and foreclosures; continuing to pause student loan payments; pushing for passage of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package announced last week; and rejoining the World Health Organization. These COVID-19 policies are critical, as the US now has over 23 million cases and almost 400,000 deaths, with millions of people being economically impacted by the crisis.
Biden’s Day One plans also include immigration reform, including ending the “Muslim ban” on travel, a racist, xenophobic Trump policy that has restricted travel and immigration from certain countries since 2017, including Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, and more recently, Eritrea, Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, and Tanzania. He also promises to send a bill to Congress to modernize our immigration system and provide a roadmap to citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Over the last four years of his presidency, Trump has caused immense harm to environmental justice, and Biden plans to reverse that harm on his first day in office and continue to work towards more progressive climate action in his first 100 days. Tomorrow, Biden will rejoin the Paris climate agreement, sign an executive order to create a plan to achieve a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions by 2050, and sign an executive order to conserve 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030.
Finally, on his first day in office, Biden will repeal the transgender military ban enacted by President Trump in 2017, as well as restore Obama-era guidance for transgender students in schools, with the priority of protecting trans students’ access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports in accordance with their gender identity.
Beyond tomorrow, we can expect President Biden to prioritize economic recovery, climate justice, gun control, violence against women, and LGBTQ+ rights.
Sources: CBS News 1/19/21; New York Times 1/18/21; CDC 1/17/21; CBS News 1/18/21; Joe Biden Climate Plan
