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Joe Biden will sign a barrage of executive orders on Wednesday as he aims to use his first afternoon as US president to reverse some of Donald Trump’s most controversial policies in areas ranging from climate change to immigration.
Mr Biden will use his inaugural address from the U.S. Capitol, which is under heavy military protection after the Jan.6 attack, to call on Americans to come together in the face of the double Covid-19 crisis and a deadly economic recession, according to his advisers. .
His message of conciliation is intended to mark a stark contrast to the divisive rhetoric that defined Mr. Trump’s four-year tenure, which resulted in a crowd of his supporters launching an assault on the seat of American democracy.
On the global front, Biden will signal that the United States intends to join the Paris climate accord and end its withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
Anthony Fauci, the US health official who often disagreed with Mr Trump over the coronavirus response, will attend this week’s executive board meeting at the WHO as the head of the US delegation.
In addition, Mr. Biden is expected to stop construction of the border wall in Mexico that was defended by his predecessor, and will revoke the travel ban for citizens of certain Muslim countries introduced at the very beginning of Mr. Trump’s administration.
“It was rooted in xenophobia and religious animosity and President-elect Biden made it clear that we will not turn our backs on our values ​​with discriminatory entry bans into the United States,” said Jake Sullivan, new adviser to national security. Muslim ban during a briefing with journalists.
Mr Biden also plans to reverse some of the environmental deregulation pursued by Mr Trump and introduce a 100-day mask warrant on federal property to try to reduce coronavirus infections.
The new president plans to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline license from the United States to Canada. “Its construction was not consistent with solving the climate crisis in the depth and scale that we plan to address,” said Gina McCarthy, the new White House climate czar.
Ms McCarthy said the Biden administration would impose a temporary moratorium on all oil and natural gas rental activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
On the economic front, Biden will call on U.S. government agencies to consider extending moratoria on evictions and foreclosures, and extending the pause on interest and principal payments for federal student loans.
In terms of racial justice, Mr. Biden will overturn Mr. Trump’s “1776 commission,” which was set up by the outgoing president to “restore patriotic education in our schools” and has been criticized for seeking to erase the history of racism in America.
Mr Biden’s inaugural speech is expected to last between 20 and 30 minutes, according to those briefed on the speech.
Breaking with transfer of power standards, Mr. Trump will not welcome Mr. Biden to the White House and instead visit his resort town of Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Wednesday without attending the inauguration.
“What you can expect to hear. . . the president, once sworn in, is a call for unity and rapprochement of the country, ”said Jen Psaki, new White House press secretary. “It will be a forward-looking speech,” she told reporters.
Mr Biden arrived in Washington on Tuesday afternoon from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, to attend a memorial service for victims of the coronavirus at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. “To heal, we must remember,” he said in brief remarks. “It is important to do this as a nation,” he added.
At 78, Biden will be the longest-serving incoming president in U.S. history and will face a huge task rebuilding the nation’s morale. According to an NBC News poll released Tuesday, 73% of voters say America is on the wrong track and 53% say they are worried and pessimistic about the nation’s future.
Marsh Notes
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