Biden’s First 100 Days

Bidens+First+100+Days

Rachel Lief, Staff Reporter, Junior

At the start of his presidency, President Joe Biden established a plan for the next four years, promising to enact monumental change within the United States with the slogan, “Build Back Better.” Biden’s plan aimed to push for greater social equity and environmental justice, in addition to combatting pervasive national issues including economic inequality and the oppression of marginalized people. In regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration established a plan to expand the vaccine rollout and to equitably provide people within the United States with the opportunity to be vaccinated.

Since being sworn into office, Biden has signed over fifty executive orders, many of which reversed policies that former president-Donald Trump implemented. The executive actions that Biden signed spanned a variety of subjects including the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration, and the environment.

On his first day of presidency, Biden reversed the travel ban that Trump imposed which targeted predominantly Muslim countries in addition to reversing the executive order that issued a national emergency and commenced the construction of the border wall. The Biden administration has worked on easing the process of immigration, through actions that included the reversal of the “remain in Mexico” policy and the increase of the number of refugees who are permitted to enter the United States yearly. They have faced scrutiny regarding the harmful conditions at the refugee camp that is located in Tijuana, Mexico and their initial permission of Trump’s limit on refugee entry into the United States.

Less than a week into his presidency, Biden rescinded the ban that Trump instated which prevented transgender people from joining the military. This reversal was accompanied by protections against discrimination within the military and alterations to policy that would increase the accessibility of healthcare for transgender people who are serving in the military. In addressal of the the global climate crisis, Biden re-entered the United States into the Paris Agreement, reversing Trump’s executive order that removed the United States from the agreement.

Furthermore, Biden publicly denounced systemic racism, intolerance towards Asian-American and Pacific Islander individuals, and xenophobia through an executive order. However, despite calls for the Biden administration to defund the police, Biden has spoken out against defunding police and has instead called for police reform measures such as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. This move has been widely criticized by advocates for the BREATHE Act, which prioritizes the reconstruction of public safety, where trained professionals replace police officers and adequately respond to crises.

Amidst the COVID-19 global health crisis, the Biden Administration advocated for the Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act in order to reinforce it. In an effort to expand access to healthcare, Biden reopened enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, allowing people to apply for coverage.

With COVID-19 being virulent since the start of his presidency, Biden planned to vaccinate at least one-hundred million individuals in his first one-hundred days of presidency, which was a goal that his administration surpassed with over two-hundred million people vaccinated. This was aided by the American Rescue Plan that he passed, which provided funding in order to augment the supply of vaccines. In their work to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within the United States, the Biden administration also took into account the advice of experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci, United States Attorney General Vivek Murphy, and CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in order to devise their plan to combat the pandemic.

With years of his presidency ahead of him, Biden has the opportunity to further his campaign policies and provide people within the United States with the future that he initially planned. It is unclear at the present moment whether the remainder of Biden’s presidency will reflect the change that he vowed to manifest in his campaign promises, yet it is for certain that his actions during the first one-hundred days of his presidency have had a major impact on the lives of people within the United States.