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WASHINGTON: In his first hours as president, Joe Biden plans to take executive action to reverse some of his predecessor’s most controversial decisions and address the terrible coronavirus pandemic, his incoming chief of staff said on Saturday (January 16).
The initial salvo would herald a 10-day barrage of executive actions as Biden seeks to act quickly to redirect the country after Donald Trump’s presidency without waiting for Congress.
On Wednesday after his inauguration, Biden will end Trump’s restriction on immigration to the United States from some Muslim-majority countries, rejoin the Paris climate accord, and require the wearing of masks on federal property and during interstate travel. Those are among about a dozen actions Biden will take on his first day in the White House, his incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, said in a memo to senior staff.
“These executive actions will bring relief to the millions of Americans who are struggling in the face of these crises,” Klain said in the memo. “President-elect Biden will take action, not only to reverse the Trump administration’s gravest damage, but also to begin moving our country forward.”
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“Full achievement” of Biden’s goals will require Congress to act, Klain said, including the $ 1.9 trillion virus relief bill he outlined Thursday. Klain said that Biden would also propose a comprehensive immigration reform bill to lawmakers on his first day in office.
The next day, Thursday, Klain said that Biden would sign orders related to the COVID-19 outbreak aimed at reopening schools and businesses and expanding virus testing. The next day, Friday, steps will be taken to provide financial relief to those suffering the economic costs of the pandemic.
In the following week, Klain said, Biden would take additional actions related to criminal justice reform, climate change and immigration, including a directive to expedite the reunion of separated families at the U.S.-Mexico border under the policies of Trump.
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Incoming presidents traditionally move quickly to sign a series of executive actions when they take office. Trump did the same, but found that many of his orders were challenged and even rejected by the courts.
Klain maintained that Biden should not suffer from similar problems, saying that “the legal theory behind them is well founded and represents a restoration of a proper constitutional role for the president.”
