On his first official day in office as President, Joe Biden already has plenty of plans to launch his administration.
According to a report by NPR, Biden is expected to sign 17 executive orders to undo some of the measures put in place by Donald Trump.
Among the orders is a mask mandate on federal property, a roll back on Trump’s travel ban on predominately Muslim nations, and a call for agencies to address systemic inequality within programs and protocols.
“The president-elect has promised to root out systemic racism from our institutions,” Susan Rice, a policy adviser for Biden, said. “This initiative is a first step in that historic work. Delivering on racial justice will require that the administration takes a comprehensive approach to embed equity in every aspect of our policy making.”
He’s expected to rescind Trump’s 1776 Commission and undo Trump’s prohibition of diversity trainings.
Biden, along with his vice president, Kamala Harris, are inheriting an unprecedented state of the nation.
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans, with each day breaking more grim records than the last. Both Biden and Harris and their spouses visited the National Coronavirus Memorial the night before the Inauguration to pay their respects to those lost and impacted by the virus.
To get to work on navigating the country out of the pandemic, Biden is expected to sign a measure to mandate masks on federal property, as well as grant an extension on the ban on evictions and foreclosures as millions face economic setbacks due to the pandemic.
Federal student loans payments and interest will also continue to be paused through September 30 under an executive order signed by Biden.
In the coming weeks, Biden will take steps to get the US to rejoin the World Health Organization, and has vowed to make more executive orders to get work done.
His coronavirus task force was assembled early in his transition to power, and will help get the coronavirus vaccine in the arms of Americans.
Biden is also expected to rejoin the Paris climate agreement as part of his plan to address the nation’s role in climate change.
Biden is expected to also take back the presidential permit on the Keystone XL pipeline that was the source of controversy for neighboring indigenous communities who use the water source to survive.
In total, Biden may roll back over 100 Trump-era executive actions on environmental regulations, and will stop construction on the southern border wall.
Photo: Getty Images