He will also sign orders to halt evictions and student loan payments during the coronavirus pandemic and issue a masked mandate on all federal property in an effort to reverse or promote policies made by the Trump administration. in a way that was impossible in the present time. administration.
“During the campaign, President-elect Biden promised to take immediate action to address and better rebuild these crises,” Klain wrote. “As president, he will keep his promises and sign dozens of executive orders, presidential memoranda and prescriptions to cabinet bodies in fulfillment of the promises he has made.”
In addition to executive action during his first days in office, the memo states that Biden plans to send a major immigration plan to Congress within the first 100 days in office. The plan provides a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.
The memorandum makes clear that an important part of Biden’s overall strategy is to get Congress to act on its legislative priorities, something Biden has addressed by highlighting his relations with Republicans in the Senate. The focus is an acknowledgment that only so much can be done by executive orders.
“The full achievement of the Biden-Harris administration’s policy objectives requires not only the executive actions that the elected president has promised to take, but also robust action by Congress,” Klain wrote.
The day after Biden was inaugurated, according to Klain, he will sign a number of executive actions to move aggressively to change the course of the COVID-19 crisis and to reopen schools and businesses safely, including by taking action to to reduce proliferation, expand testing, protect workers and establish clear public health standards. ‘
And on Jan. 22, Biden will order his cabinet agencies to “take immediate steps to provide economic relief to working families most affected by this crisis,” Klain wrote.
The spate of action is meant to show Americans that Biden is wasting no time in taking control of the coronavirus – something that the Biden transition is carefully focused on. But the scope and breadth of the topics that Biden will address also underscore the extent to which Democrats believe the incoming government needs to focus on several issues at once to be successful.
From January 25 to February 1, Klain writes that Biden will be instructed on everything from his government to buy American products to start fulfilling promises to reform the criminal justice system.
During the one-week period, Biden will also order the federal government to determine how they can reunite children separated from their families on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Of course, these actions are just the beginning of our work,” Klain writes. “Much more will need to be done to fight COVID-19, rebuild our economy better, combat systemic racism and inequality, and address the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. But by February 1, America will be on the right track ‘All four of these challenges – and more – are thanks to the leadership of President-elect Joe Biden.’
Political pressure on Biden
Because Biden regularly promised to act on ‘day one’ of his government, hosts of interest groups and advocacy organizations put public pressure on Biden to keep his promises.
“There is a lot of talk about Biden ending the ban on the first day of his presidency because it is something he has been working for,” said Iman Awad, national legislative director of Emgage Action, a Muslim-American advocacy organization. . “With that, we understand that we are facing so much during this political moment: a current president making this transition almost impossible, the uprising and the pandemic. Nevertheless, the Muslim-American communities are hopeful that the Biden government will make that promise. will comply, despite the crises happening. ‘
For climate change activists, Biden’s promise to act swiftly on a variety of climate issues was an important part of the reason why progressive people in Biden rallied after clearing the Democratic field, said Jared Leopold, co-founder of Evergreen Action, ‘ a group of former staff members, said. to Washington, the government Jay Inslee, who elected him president in 2020, focused almost entirely on climate change.
“Taking over the presidency from Donald Trump is like taking over the lease from a freak house: the clean-up to-do list is staggering,” Leopold said. “The task for Biden is twofold: first clean up Trump’s damage, then take action on the daring climate plan that science demands. Biden has run the strongest climate plan in American history, and he has a clear mandate to put it in place immediately. through executive and legislative action. “
And LGBTQ activists, such as the president of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, said it was critical for Biden to make it clear at the outset of his administration that he was committed to rewriting the Trump administration’s actions.
“I expect the Biden-Harris government to take corrective action within the first day of taking office to fulfill its promises,” David said in an interview with CNN, stressing the need to “ensure that the rights of LGBTQ students are enforced under Title IX. “
“My goal is to make sure that the civil rights of LGBTQ people are protected, that Joe Biden lives up to his campaign promises and keeps his promises to the community,” David said. “And all my expectations lead me to the conclusion that based on conversations I’ve had, I’m going to take the steps to make sure they live up to their campaign commitments and promises.”
This story has been updated with additional information.