President Joe Biden has been in office for 60 days. Here’s what he’s done and failed to do so far.
Within his first days of office, Biden signed several executive orders, many of them attempting to reverse Trump’s decisions during his term.
On his first day in office, Biden repealed Trump’s controversial travel ban that restricted migration, primarily from Muslim-majority and African countries.
President Biden also signed four executive orders directed towards Biden’s efforts to dismantle systemic racism.
The four executive actions include:
- Investigating the effects of the Trump administration’s actions within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to address racially discriminatory federal housing policies
- Ordering the Department of Justice to end contracts with private prisons in order to reduce incarceration levels
- Increasing the sovereignty of Native American tribes to “strengthen the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the United States and Tribal Nations”
- Combating xenophobia against Asian American and Pacific Islanders
Biden has also reversed the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline in support of environmentalists and Indegenous communities. This, along with the repeal of Trump’s ban on Trans folks joining the military, has been an attempt to undo many of the previous administration’s harm on disadvantaged communities.
However, it is important to take these changes with a grain of salt. Executive orders are simple to sign and simple to undo. Just as Biden’s decisions were able to work against Trump’s previous administrative actions, one president is simply able to reverse policies enacted by another.
Despite his more positive actions, Biden also continues to fail the progressive agenda and goals of those who supported him.
President Joe Biden’s campaign promised ambitious goals for higher education and relief for those with student loans. Despite his support from progressives, who are urging Biden to use his executive authority to cancel debt, all Biden has done so far is extend the pause on student loan payments through September 30, 2021.
During his campaign, Biden also promised 0 deportations during his first 100 days. However, within the first month in office, over 20,000 immigrants have been deported.
It is important to note that although Biden and his administration currently hold power, his decisions still face limits, as Biden’s plan for enforcing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations was banned by a federal judge. However, it is hard not to point out the hypocrisy that came with Biden’s campaign. Despite heavily criticizing Trump’s actions, Biden continues to act under the same system.
Most recently, President Biden ordered retaliatory strikes in Syria at the end of February. Despite a rise in domestic issues, the administration in office continues to show that America will prioritize anything else to ensure that America keeps its title as the most warlike nation.
The American population saw a return to military operations and war before they received their stimulus money, before they received vaccines, before they got their jobs back, before people received health care, before the government forgave their debts, and before the administration even addressed issues with housing and higher education.
With the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and the recent approval of the stimulus package, some of Biden’s promises during his campaign may come to fruition. The plan consists of $1,400 stimulus payments, funds for vaccine distribution and testing, $300 weekly federal aid for unemployment, an expanded child tax credit, and more funds for state and local governments.
In order to see change, we must continue to hold Biden and his administration accountable, through the good and the bad.