Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is moving swiftly to dismantle Donald Trump’s legacy on his first day in office, signing a series of executive actions that reverse course on immigration, climate change, racial equity and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new president signed the orders just hours after taking the oath of office at the Capitol, pivoting quickly from his pared-down inauguration ceremony to enacting his agenda. With the stroke of a pen, Biden ordered a halt to the construction of Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall, ended the ban on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, declared his intent to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization and revoked the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, aides said.
The 15 executive actions, and two directives, amount to an attempt to rewind the last four years of federal policies with striking speed. Only two recent presidents signed executive actions on their first day in office — and each signed just one. But Biden, facing the debilitating coronavirus pandemic, a damaged economy and a riven electorate, is intent on demonstrating a sense of urgency and competence that he argues has been missing under his Republican predecessor.
“There’s no time to start like today,” Biden said in his first comments to reporters as president.
President Joe Biden's first set of executive orders included provisions to shift federal workforce policy away from Trump administration plans.
Jessie Bur
Biden wore a mask as he signed the orders in the Oval Office — a marked departure from Trump, who rarely wore a face covering in public and never during events in the Oval Office. But virus precautions are now required in the building. Among the executive actions signed Wednesday was one requiring masks and physical distancing on federal property and by federal employees. Biden’s order also extended the federal eviction freeze to aid those struggling from the pandemic economic fallout, created a new federal office to coordinate a national response to the virus and restored the White House’s National Security Council directorate for global health security and defense, an office his predecessor had closed.
The actions reflected the new president’s top policy priority — getting a handle on a debilitating pandemic. In his inaugural address, Biden paused for what he called his first act as president — a moment of a silent prayer for the victims of the nation’s worst public health crisis in more than a century.
He declared that he would “press forward with speed and urgency” in coming weeks. “For we have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibilities — much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build and much to gain,” he said in the speech.
But Biden’s blitz of executive actions went beyond the pandemic. He targeted Trump’s environmental record, calling for a review of all regulations and executive actions that are deemed damaging to the environment or public health, aides said Tuesday as they previewed the moves.
Another order instructs federal agencies to prioritize racial equity and review policies that reinforce systemic racism. Biden also revoked a Trump order that sought to exclude people in the U.S. illegally from the numbers used for apportioning congressional seats among the states and ordered federal employees to take an ethics pledge that commits them to upholding the independence of the Justice Department.
The president also revoked the just-issued report of Trump’s “1776 Commission” that promotes “patriotic education.”
Biden inauguration in nation's capital
1 of 33A National Guard stands at a road block near the Supreme Court ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Gerald Herbert/AP)
2 of 33Soldiers from the North Carolina Army National Guard patrol the Rosslyn Metro station on the morning of the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (Luke Sharrett/Getty Images)
3 of 33Members of the National Guard stand at a road block near the Supreme Court ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (John Minchillo/AP)
4 of 33Left to right: Doug Emhoff, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, incoming first lady Jill Biden, President-elect Joe Biden, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar arrive for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president on Jan. 20, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
5 of 33President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden arrive to Biden's inauguration on the West Front of the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
6 of 33Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush arrive before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president on Jan. 20, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
7 of 33Former President Bill Clinton arrives with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
8 of 33Former President Barack Obama, left, bumps fists with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as they arrive for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
9 of 33Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
10 of 33President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)
11 of 33President-elect Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff arrive at the steps of the U.S. Capitol for the start of the official inauguration ceremonies, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
12 of 33Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley arrives for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president on Jan. 20, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)
13 of 33Members of the National Guard salute as they stand near the U.S. Capitol while the national anthem is sung during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
14 of 33Members of the National Guard salute as they stand near the Capitol while the national anthem is sung during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
15 of 33Members of the National Guard stand on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
16 of 33National Guard troops look on during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
17 of 33President Joe Biden, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Harris, attend a Pass-in-Review ceremony, hosted by the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol after the 59th Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021 in Washington. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
18 of 33Outgoing President Donald Trump addresses guests at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)
19 of 33President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. Trump is en route to his Mar-a-Lago Florida Resort. (Alex Brandon/AP)
20 of 33Outgoing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump descend Marine One as they arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)
21 of 33Outgoing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump step out of Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)
22 of 33From left to right: first lady Dr. Jill Biden, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Doug Emhoffl, Harris' husband, watch a military pass-in-review during the inauguration on the West Front of the Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
23 of 33President Joe Biden, center, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Maj. Gen. Omar J. Jones salute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery on Jan. 20, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images)
24 of 33President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attend a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony at the Capitol Jan. 20, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
25 of 33Members of the military march on 15th Street towards the White House during a presidential escort to the White House following President Joe Biden taking the oath of office in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Jose Luis Magana/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
26 of 33President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk up Pennsylvania Avenue towards the White House in Washington after Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in at the Capitol on Jan. 20, 202. (Doug Mills/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
27 of 33Military bands parade past President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as they prepare to depart the Capitol following their taking the Oath of Office as the 46th president and 49th vice president of the United States in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Rod Lamkey/Pool, AFP via Getty Images)
28 of 33An honor guard deploys to line up along Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
29 of 33A military band parades on the street near the White House after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in at the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
30 of 33President-elect Joe Biden bumps fists with former President Barack Obama during Biden's inauguration, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Pool Photo via AP)
31 of 33President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they arrive at the North Portico of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/Pool via AP)
32 of 33Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, as their children Ashley and Hunter watch. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP)
33 of 33President Joe Biden waits to sign his first executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Those moves and others will be followed by dozens more in the next 10 days, the president’s aides said, as Biden looks to redirect the country without having to go through a Senate that Democrats control by the narrowest margin and will soon turn to the impeachment trial of Trump, who is charged by the House of inciting the insurrection at the Capitol.
Republicans signaled that Biden will face fierce opposition on some parts of his agenda.
One of his orders seeks to fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, a signature effort of the Obama administration that provided hundreds of thousands of young immigrants protection from deportation and a pathway to citizenship. That’s part of a broader immigration plan Biden sent to Congress on Wednesday that would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status.
The plan would lead to “a permanent cycle of illegal immigration and amnesty that would hurt hard-working Americans and the millions of legal immigrants working their way through the legal immigration process,” said Chris Hartline, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Joe Biden took up the U.S. presidency Jan. 20 with promises for many changes to the previous administration's policy.
Jessie Bur
Even that familiar criticism seemed a return to the normalcy Biden has promised after years of disruptive and overheated politics. Hewing to tradition, Biden started his day by attending church with both Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress. His press secretary, Jen Psaki, held a briefing for reporters, a practice the Trump White House had all but abandoned in the final two months of the presidency. Psaki said she intended to restore regular briefings as part of the White House’s commitment to transparency.
“I have deep respect for the role of a free and independent press in our democracy and for the role all of you play,” she said.
Biden took other steps to try to signal his priorities and set the tone in his White House. As he swore in dozens of political appointees in a virtual ceremony, he declared he expected “honesty and decency” from all that worked for his administration and would fire anyone who shows disrespect to others “on the spot.”
“Everyone is entitled to human decency and dignity,” Biden said. “That’s been missing in a big way for the last four years.”
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