Dylon Harrison
Managing Editor
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. took the oath of office and officially became the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
On his first day in office, President Biden signed a total of 17 executive orders in order to begin attempting to resolve some of the issues he believes the country is facing.
The issues covered in these orders include the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, immigration, civil rights issues, economics, government accountability and the climate crisis.
Under the executive orders, all federal employees will be required to follow social-distancing protocols and wear masks at all times while on federal property.
Biden also issued orders appointing a new COVID-19 response coordinator, recommitted the US to the World Health Organization and restored the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the National Security Council. This group had been eliminated by former President Donald Trump.
The US has also rejoined the Paris Climate Accords following an order from Biden.
In further attempts to combat the climate crisis, the president also signed an order which revoked the permits for the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline.
In addition to the orders related to the pandemic, Biden has also started a “100-day masking challenge,” which asks all Americans to wear masks in public for the next 100 days.
In regards to immigration, the president has ordered that the construction of the previous administration’s border wall come to an immediate halt.
He also increased protections for Dreamers, ended a plan to not include noncitizens in the census count, overturned an order form by Trump that called for aggressive efforts in deporting unauthorized immigrants and ended the travel ban to the US from several, predominantly Muslim nations.
Biden also ended the 1776 Commission, which had been started by the previous administration and gave an inaccurate account of the role of slavery in United States history.
The president has also overturned a Trump executive order which limited the ability of agencies under federal jurisdiction to hold diversity and inclusion training.
Federal agencies have also been ordered to assess and report on their internal equity within 200 days of the order being signed. Part of the report must include each agency’s plan on ways to remove barriers in programs and policies.
This order is also aimed at assuring that all Americans, regardless of their background, will have Biden also issued an order which reinforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requiring that no one be discriminated against by the federal government on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This directly reversed actions taken by Trump
The president has also extended a federal moratorium on evictions until the end of March at the earliest. He has also asked several federal agencies to extend a moratorium on foreclosures on federally guaranteed mortgages.
He has also extended a pause on federal student loan payments and interest rates until the end of September.
Biden also issued a freeze order on all regulations that his predecessor put into motion. This was done in order to give his administration time to review these regulations and determine which ones he wants to allow to move forward.
