WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden will sign executive orders on Inauguration Day next week to address the pandemic, ailing United States economy, climate change and racial injustice, said a senior aide yesterday.
“All of these crises demand urgent action,” said incoming chief-of-staff Ron Klain in a memo to the new White House senior staff, adding that Biden will sign “roughly a dozen” orders after he is sworn in on Wednesday.
“In his first 10 days in office, president-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world.”
As he inherits the White House from Donald Trump, Biden’s plate is overflowing with acute challenges.
The US is fast approaching 400,000 fatalities from Covid-19 and logging well over a million new cases a week as the disease spreads out of control.
The economy is ailing, with 10 million fewer jobs available compared to the start of the pandemic, and American consumers and businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
Biden this week unveiled plans to seek US$1.9 trillion (RM7.6 trillion) to revive the economy through new stimulus payments and other aid, and plans a blitz to accelerate the US’ stumbling Covid-19 vaccine roll-out effort.
On Inauguration Day, Biden, as previously promised, will sign orders including ones for the US to rejoin the Paris climate accord and reverse Trump’s ban on the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries, said Klain.
“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.”
And as he takes on all these challenges, Biden is eager to keep the focus in Congress on his agenda and avoid distraction from Trump’s trial in the Senate after his historic second impeachment, this time for instigating the January 6 riot at the US Capitol by supporters seeking to disrupt the formal certification of Biden’s election victory.
Biden has suggested that the Senate divide its time each day between the trial and holding hearings on confirming his cabinet picks.
Trump has still not congratulated Biden on his win, only acknowledged defeat indirectly, and refused to drop his baseless claims that he lost the November 3 vote through fraud.
He is skipping Biden’s inauguration – the first president in more than 150 years to snub the solemn ceremony symbolising the peaceful transfer of power. – AFP, January 17, 2021
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