On Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2021, the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place, marking the start of the four-year term of Biden’s presidency and Kamala Harris as vice president.
According to CBS News, Biden is forced with an immense task of recovery as he enters office with one of the worst economies in U.S. history.
Biden started his first day as president by releasing multiple orders to undo Donald Trump’s policies when he was in office.
“Biden was forced with a task to not only introduce new orders created but also has to regain what was lost during Trump’s presidency. He has to join multiple world accords again and still has to combat coronavirus and the distribution of the vaccines to many across the globe,” said Teasha Zhou, a junior.
Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization, both of which were withdrawn from during Trump’s presidency. Biden also repealed Trump’s attempt to prevent non-citizens from being counted in the U.S. Census, which had previously affected the distribution of federal grant money and representation in Congress. He also reversed the travel ban implemented during Trump’s reign in office and allowed visa applications from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Libya to start once more. Read more about what Biden did during his first day in office in a recent Forbes article.
“Biden went straight to work in his first day of office and redid many of the bad policies Trump had put into place. It was necessary we re-joined the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization because these two organizations will help protect citizens’ health now and for the future. Also, it is excellent he re-implemented the visa applications from many idle eastern countries, which will allow others to migrate into America once again,” said Nicholas Voong, a junior.
Biden did not waste time on the second day of his presidency either, as he focused on the economy and other priorities such as COVID-19.
President Biden signed two more orders on Friday, both of which were focused on the economy. One expanded food assistance and the handouts of stimulus checks to low-income Americans. The other one raised the minimum wage to $15 for the federal workforce.
Biden created a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan as the money would fund a nationwide vaccination effort and provide $1,400 stimulus checks to those that need it. The Biden administration created new strategies to combat violent domestic extremism.
“What Biden is doing, such as focusing on COVID-19 and the economy, is very good because the economy has taken a huge hit from the pandemic,” Zhou said.
According to NPR, President Biden’s goal for vaccination includes 100 million vaccine doses in only 100 days, which is ambitious but within reach by many health experts.
In Biden’s first three days as president, he signed 30 executive orders and actions ranging from immigration to the economy and tackling COVID-19. Read more about it in the recent CNN article.
President Biden also signed a military executive order which repealed Trump’s ban on most transgender Americans from joining the military.
“What I’m doing is enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform,” Biden said, speaking from the Oval Office just before signing the executive order. Read more about it in a CNN article.
Trump had first announced the ban on Twitter in 2017 and argued that those in the military that identified as transgender would lead to “tremendous medical costs and disruption.” In 2018, the policy that was released blocked individuals that have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria from serving with limited exceptions. Those who are not diagnosed with the condition are allowed to serve, but only if they do so according to the sex they were assigned at birth.
“It was important that Biden did what he did for those that are transgender and suffer from gender dysphoria but still want to serve. We should allow everyone to serve if they want to; there should be no discrimination,” Voong said.
On Tuesday, Jan 26, Biden made a move on racial injustice in America, releasing a series of executive orders that came only 20 days from an extremely shocking moment in modern US history, the storming of the capitol.
“There are many mixed reactions to Biden’s presidency; some people are ecstatic, others are in shock. There are no more riots in Baltimore, as there weren’t many to begin with. Many of the young adults are happy with the outcome and are ready for change,” said Lilly Chado, a sophomore at Franklin High School in Baltimore, Maryland.
Biden’s effort will guarantee fairness in the judicial system and tackle those that abuse civil rights. He is also soon expected to seek reforms on policing, which comes from Geroge Floyd’s death.
“Biden is trying to tackle a problem in America that has existed for hundreds of years. The new reforms and actions he is putting in place are very standard but also have a high possibility of working. After what happened on Jan. 6, the storming of the capital, and the past year’s racial injustice with George Floyd, this is definitely something Biden has to tackle if he wants to show that he is a president for everyone,” Voong said.
In the first week of his presidency, there have been 40 new executive orders and actions that have been put into place, and there is no plan to end as there are many issues the Biden administration has to tackle.
