United States President Joe Biden has signed a string of government orders, memorandums and directives that can reverse a few of his predecessor Donald Trump’s most divisive insurance policies, together with rescinding the so-called “Muslim ban” and rejoining the Paris local weather accord.
Simply hours after his inauguration on the US Capitol on Wednesday, Biden signed 15 government actions that his staff earlier mentioned aimed to “reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration”.
Biden instructed reporters within the Oval Workplace that there was “no time to waste”.
“Among the government actions I’m going to be signing as we speak are going to assist change the course of the COVID disaster, we’re going to fight local weather change in a approach that we haven’t executed to date and advance racial fairness and assist different underserved communities,” he mentioned, as reported by Reuters information company.
Biden’s first main problem as he enters the White Home shall be tackling the surging COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed greater than 400,000 individuals throughout the nation up to now.
To that impact, Biden signed an order on Wednesday afternoon to institute a 100-day masks mandate throughout the US and appoint a COVID-19 coordinator to handle a nationwide response to the pandemic.
Here’s a take a look at a few of Biden’s first government actions as president:
Rescinding the ‘Muslim ban’
Biden rescinded the so-called “Muslim ban”, an government order Trump signed in 2017 that banned travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations from coming into the US.
The ban was modified a number of occasions amid authorized challenges and in the end upheld by the US Supreme Courtroom in 2018.
“The president put an finish to the Muslim ban – a coverage rooted in non secular animus and xenophobia,” Biden’s White Home Press Secretary Jen Psaki mentioned throughout a Wednesday night briefing.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations welcomed the choice as “an vital first step towards undoing the anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant insurance policies of the earlier administration”.
“It is a vital fulfilment of a marketing campaign pledge to the Muslim group and its allies,” the group’s government director, Nihad Awad, mentioned in an announcement.
Rejoining Paris Settlement
The US will as soon as once more turn out to be a celebration to the Paris Settlement, Biden additionally introduced.
The transfer to rejoin the worldwide treaty on local weather change is anticipated to take impact 30 days after it’s deposited with the UN, Biden’s staff mentioned earlier on Wednesday.
In November, the US grew to become the primary nation on the earth to withdraw from the treaty – a transfer that fuelled tensions between Washington and its allies in Europe and drew widespread rebuke from environmental and human rights teams.
Launching masks mandate
Biden launched his “100 Days Masking Problem”, ordering a compulsory masks mandate in all US federal buildings for the primary 100 days of his administration to attempt to forestall the unfold of COVID-19.
The order asks Individuals to do their “patriotic responsibility and masks up for 100 days”, and it additionally creates the place of COVID-19 response coordinator, who will report on to the president and assist coordinate a unified nationwide response to the surging pandemic.
“This may strengthen our personal efforts to get the pandemic beneath management by enhancing world well being,” Psaki mentioned throughout the briefing, including that Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of many high US infectious illness consultants, would take part in a WHO assembly this week “because the US head of delegation”.
The Infectious Illness Society of America instantly welcomed the mandatory-mask order.
“The president’s order comes at a important level, when vaccines, in addition to a plan to speed up their rollout, provide new hope, but additionally when extra simply transmitted variants of the virus current new challenges,” the group mentioned.
Re-engaging with WHO
Biden is halting Trump’s deliberate withdrawal from the World Well being Group (WHO).
The Trump administration in July of final yr notified Congress and the United Nations that the US was formally withdrawing from the WHO. The choice would have gone into impact in July.
Trump justified the choice by saying the WHO “did not make the requested and vastly wanted reforms” and accusing the group of serving to China cowl up the origins of the novel coronavirus.
The Biden-Harris administration is anticipated to take part in a WHO government board assembly that’s persevering with this week, Biden’s staff mentioned earlier on Wednesday.
Bob Goodfellow, the interim government director of Amnesty Worldwide USA, welcomed Biden’s WHO determination as “a much-needed first step” in restoring Washington’s cooperation with the worldwide group.
He additionally urged Biden to assist the WHO’s COVAX programme, which goals to make sure COVID-19 vaccines are evenly distributed between international locations.
“It’s of the utmost significance that the Biden administration lead multilateral efforts to struggle the pandemic and to assist and fund world vaccine efforts,” Goodfellow mentioned.
Halting border wall development
Biden additionally rescinded the nationwide emergency declaration that was used to justify a few of Trump’s funding diversions to construct the wall on the US-Mexico border.
The order, Biden’s staff mentioned earlier on Wednesday, will direct “an instantaneous pause” in development to permit for a evaluation of the funding and contracting strategies used.
Constructing a “massive” and “stunning” wall between the US and Mexico to dam undocumented immigrants from coming into the nation was considered one of Trump’s key 2016 election marketing campaign guarantees.
Rescinding Keystone pipeline approval
Biden additionally revoked the presidential allow granted to the multibillion-dollar Keystone XL pipeline, a contentious vitality undertaking that was slated to ship 830,000 barrels of oil per day between the Canadian province of Alberta and the US state of Nebraska.
Canada, which this week mentioned it remained dedicated to the undertaking, expressed its “disappointment” on the determination on Wednesday.
However Matthew Campbell, workers lawyer on the Native American Rights Fund, which has represented Indigenous nations in authorized challenges towards Keystone XL, instructed Al Jazeera Biden’s determination is “vindication” for Native communities against the pipeline.
Fortifying DACA
In 2012, whereas serving as vice chairman to President Barack Obama, the US adopted Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to supply momentary aid from deportation to “Dreamers”, younger individuals who have been dropped at the US as youngsters.
The Trump administration has tried to terminate the programme, by which 700,000 younger individuals have utilized for aid.
In a presidential memorandum signed on Wednesday, Biden directed the Secretary of Homeland Safety, in session with the US Legal professional Basic, to make it possible for DACA is preserved and fortified.
The memorandum additionally calls on Congress to enact laws that would offer “everlasting standing and a pathway to citizenship” to the Dreamers.