Biden plans to roll back controversial Trump policies on his first day in office, including reversing the Muslim travel ban and rejoining the Paris climate accord
- Biden plans to sign "roughly a dozen" executive orders that include rejoining the Paris climate accord, and reversing the travel ban on several majority Muslim countries.
- A memo from incoming chief of staff Ron Klain outlines Biden's 10-day action plan in which he hopes to immediately reverse some of President Trump's signature policies.
- Biden has inherited a number of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting economic crisis, a climate emergency, and a racial equity crisis.
- He plans to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic first and on his first day in office will make mask-wearing mandatory on all federal property and during inter-state travel.
- Insider has outlined some of Biden's plans in the days after his inauguration.
President-elect Joe Biden will get to work immediately on his first day in the White House as he plans to sign "roughly a dozen" executive orders that include rejoining the Paris climate accord, and reversing the travel ban on several majority Muslim countries, according to a memo from incoming chief of staff Ron Klain.
Biden is also preparing to sign orders that will extend a pause on federal student loan payments, halt evictions and foreclosures, and make mask-wearing mandatory on all federal property and during inter-state travel.
These executive orders are part of a larger 10-day plan that has been promised by the incoming administration in an effort to immediately roll back some of President Trump's signature policies on immigration, climate change, and the coronavirus crisis.
"President-elect Biden is assuming the presidency in a moment of profound crisis for our nation," Klain writes in the memo. "We face four overlapping and compounding crises: the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis."
"President-elect Biden will take action - not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration - but also to start moving our country forward," Klain adds.
The memo also summarizes plans to send Congress an immigration plan within the first 100 days in office.
Here are some other objectives Biden has planned for his first 10 days in office, according to the memo:
Day 2:
- The president-elect will sign a number of executive actions to "safely re-open schools and businesses, including by taking action to mitigate spread through expanding testing, protecting workers, and establishing clear public health standards."
Day 3:
- Biden will continue to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and will "immediately deliver economic relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis."
Day 4-10:
- The president-elect will begin to fulfill promises to reform the criminal justice system.
- Biden will direct his administration to buy more American products.
- He will also address the US-Mexico issue and will order the federal government to determine how to reunite children separated from their families.
- He will sign orders aimed at fighting climate change and expanding access to health care.
The memo comes as Biden rolled out his first legislative priority this week - an ambitious $1.9 trillion "American Rescue Plan" that includes new plans for COVID-19 testing, vaccination, research, and international relief.
"Of course, these actions are just the start of our work," Klain writes in the memo. "But by February 1st, America will be moving in the right direction on all four of these challenges - and more - thanks to President-elect Joe Biden's leadership," he added.
The memo does not mention any plans of rejoining the World Health Organization (WHO), something Biden had previously promised he would do on his first day in office.
Trump formally withdrew the country from the global health body in July last year, accusing the WHO of being under China's control amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden, alongside Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, will be sworn into office in front of the US Capitol on January 20 in a highly-policed ceremony.
An inauguration rehearsal that was due to happen on Sunday had to be postponed due to security concerns.