On his first day of office, President Joe Biden signed more than a dozen executive actions.
Various executive actions will change the U.S. response to COVID-19 and try to ease some of the financial strains on Americans due to the pandemic. Other executive actions will reverse former President Donald Trump’s actions on the environment, immigration, the U.S. census, and regulatory changes.
President Biden first executive orders signed were, implementing a mask mandate on federal property, increasing support for underserved communities and rejoining the Paris climate accord.
Below are President Biden’s first 15 executive orders and 2 executive actions that were signed.
COVID-19 Response
100 Days Masking Challenge – This calls for a nationwide face mask and social distancing mandate in federal buildings, on federal lands, and by federal employees and contractors.
Restructuring the federal government’s coordination to the COVID-19 pandemic – President Biden is bringing back former President Obama’s Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefence team, which was abolished during the Trump administration. A response coordinator will also be implemented to report to the president on vaccine, testing and personal protective equipment productions, supply, and distribution.
Rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO) – The Trump administration was in the process of leaving the WHO. President Biden is looking to reestablish the U.S. as an active leader at the WHO.
Financial Relief for Americans
Extend eviction and foreclosure moratoriums – President Biden will call on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to re-implement and extend the already defunct moratorium through March 31. He will also call in the Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Veterans Affairs to extend the foreclosure moratoriums for their federally backed mortgages.
Continue the pause on student loan payments through September 30 – President Biden pledges to cancel $10,000 of student loans, but this will take time as it has to go through Congress.
Environment
Rejoin the Paris Climate Accord – The U.S. abandoned the agreement late last year on former President Trump’s orders. President Biden plans to reenter the Paris climate accord, the landmark international agreement signed in 2015 to limit global warming.
End Keystone XL pipeline and revoke oil and gas development at national wildlife monuments – The Biden administration will discard or redo more than 100 harmful presidential proclamations, memoranda or permits signed by the Trump administration that the new administration views as detrimental to the environment.
Human Rights
Actions to advance racial equity through the federal government – President Biden wants every federal agency to review equity in their programs and actions. For example, with this executive action the Office of Management and Budget will analyze if federal money is equitably distributed in communities of color and other places of need. Trump’s harmful 1776 Commission, the 18-member board he formulated in September, will be stopped.
Count non-citizens in the U.S. Census again – This reverses President Trump’s order in July 2020 to not count undocumented Americans, which would affect federal allocation of money and federal representation.
Strengthen workplace discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity – At agencies, this broadens the federal protections against sex discrimination to include LGBTQ Americans
Immigration
Defend “Dreamers” program for undocumented young Americans – President Biden calls on Congress to grant permanent status and a path to citizenship to Dreamers. The Trump administration challenged the law but the Supreme Court upheld it.
End the so-called “Muslim Travel Ban” – This will end the restricted travel and immigration ban to the U.S. from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, and Tanzania.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – This executive order will repeal the changes former President Trump made in the first week of his presidency in 2017 to make interior immigration enforcement much stricter.
Stop border wall construction – President Biden will end the national emergency declaration cited by the Trump administration to divert money to the building of the southern wall.
Keep protections for a group of Liberians in the country – Liberians who have been in the United States for many years will be able to remain longer. Their “deferred enforcement departure” will be extended an additional year, until June 30, 2022.
Regulations
Freezing last-minute Trump administration regulatory actions – President Biden issued a memo that could halt Trump administration rules that had not yet gone into effect, stopping several environmental rollbacks in their tracks.
Ethics
Formulate Executive Branch ethics doctrine – President Biden wants every executive branch appointee to sign an ethics pledge. The pledge also demands federal employees promise “to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice.”
