The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 6 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on March 12, 2021.
Lia Fiffles ‘24
Staff Writer
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in on January 20, 2021. It has been almost 50 days since the Biden Administration took office. Since then, 50 executive actions have been signed to work toward reversing policies that were implemented by former President Donald Trump and his administration.
A notable issue that has taken the lives of more than 500,000 Americans is the Coronavirus pandemic. President Biden has worked to implement a mask mandate and provide more testing and tracing sites with easier access to them. In addition, Biden has said he will work to reestablish the United States’ relationship with the World Health Organization. Still, it will take much more time and effort to regain that position of leadership in global health. A COVID-19 coordinator has been appointed to advise the president while simultaneously overseeing vaccine distribution, testing, tracing, and supplies.
Additionally, President Biden has talked about an extensive plan for fighting climate change, but without climate legislation from Congress, future administrations will be able to revoke Biden’s plan. Upon being sworn in, President Biden went through with his commitment to have the United States rejoin the Paris agreement. Additionally, the presidential permit that was granted to the Keystone XL Pipeline was revoked, which has been fought for by environmentalists for years. With this decision comes differing opinions because while it is a step in the right direction for working on climate change, there are concerns for the long-term effect this decision will have in terms of a rise in oil prices and the jobs that were lost.
Further, President Biden has halted construction and funding for the border wall. This pause does not do anything to restore the damage that was caused to communities and different ecosystems and is a part of the 60-day pause that Biden implemented to review all unfinished projects, so there is no saying what will take place after. In addition, the “Executive Order on the Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families” was issued. This prioritizes prohibiting the separation of families and the overall treatment of migrants at the border. Alongside this, at the president’s request, the executive branch has been asked to sign an ethics pledge.
These executive orders and actions have set a tone that differs greatly from the past administrations. The issues addressed go beyond what has been offered above but promise to have been made by the Biden administration that has yet to be acknowledged. This new administration has claimed to work toward combating racial inequality through a new government initiative that is said to promote racial equity. Within the first 50 days of his presidency, President Biden has worked to turn around what the Trump administration implemented in the past four years. The expectations are high for the new president, and Biden is expected to stick to his plan of focusing on important issues.
