By Pender Bauhan

Without delay, the Biden administration has taken action to combat various problems currently ravaging the nation. President Joseph Biden has thus far mainly focused on three problems in his first weeks in office: climate, immigration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have taken full advantage of the executive order process. Biden expressed  that he “is not making new law. [He is] eliminating bad policy.” An executive order is a signed, written, and published directive from the President of the United States that manages the operations of the federal government, and it is not the same as legislation approved by Congress. The president can be blocked by the US Senate or struck down by the courts. For example, Congress can defund or make other laws that block the order from progressing, but the President has overall power of calling the order to action. NPR’s Tamara Keith put it well, saying that executive orders can be the “equivalent of very formally written press releases. They allow a president to signal that they are doing something — that they are delivering on the promises they made when they ran for office, even if the executive action is really just the first step in a long process of change.”

President Joe Biden. Photo credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

During former President Donald Trump’s previous administration, climate change was low on the list of concerns. Trump took many steps that reversed Obama-era climate and environmental policies, including leaving the Paris Agreement. This binding agreement provides a framework for financial, technical, and capacity building support to those countries who need it. The goal is to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius by 2050. Biden used an executive order to rejoin the Paris Agreement. 

Biden took further action in the realm of climate change by canceling the Keystone XL oil pipeline permit. This pipeline travels across the border between Canada and the US, ending in Texas, transporting oil to various refineries. The Trump administration supported this project in hopes of bringing more jobs and money to the country, unswayed by criticism from environmental activists about the detrimental effects the construction of the pipeline would cause to the environment. 

Biden also passed an executive order initiating a plan to combat climate change, taking on aspects of The Green New Deal. He is calling for less methane gas pollution due to oil and gas operation and pushing for 100% clean energy by 2050 and zero emissions vehicles. 

President Biden and Vice President Harris. Photo credit: UPI/Alamy Stock Photo.

Undoing many of Trump’s administrative orders, Biden has sent out various executive orders pertaining to immigration. One executive order incorporates undocumented immigrants into the census. This is opposite of what the Trump administration was attempting to do in court. Biden also sent out a proclamation “ending ban on US entry from majority-Muslim countries.” The Biden/Harris campaign website also includes a detailed description of his immigration plans, including the need to “modernise America’s immigration system” and “welcome immigrants in our communities.” 

The Biden team is also tackling the looming topic of COVID-19. The US has hit 500,000 COVID deaths this year. President Biden put out the executive order that creates a position for an advisor to virus vaccines, tests, and other supplies. This will allow for organization and lead to substantial steps being taken to combat this virus. In addition, Biden also signed an executive order that supports COVID-19 care to be spread in long-term care facilities. This is in sharp contrast with the past administration. The Trump administration never mandated masks, which are now required on federal property. 

In addition, Biden also is highly invested in supporting the science that is helping to stop the virus. Others include travel restrictions, economic relief, unemployment due to COVID, workplace safety, task force, and masks, and a massive vaccine rollout. According to NPR, Biden has signed at least 29 executive orders, the most since FDR’s 30 orders signed in 1933.