By Aimilia-Meropi Konialidis, Y11
The dawn of a new era comes as President Joe Biden begins his 4-year term. With this change comes a period of reflection, and we cannot help but compare the first few days of President Trump with those of President Biden.
President Trump signed only one executive order on Inauguration Day. He did this as he did not want to mix document-signing with celebration. The one order he did sign was one to advance the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, a law Obama had signed in 2010. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, resulted in health insurance coverage for roughly 94% of the American population. With Trump in power, over 12.1% of the American population did not have health insurance.
President Biden signed 17 documents on Inauguration Day. Biden first signed a memorandum halting any and all new or pending laws Donald Trump had passed on his last days as president. Biden then rejoined the Paris Agreement, signed an executive order promoting racial equality and another banning discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. President Biden also pulled all funding from Trump’s wall and ended construction while also removing the ban, placed by Trump, on US entry from Muslim-majority countries. Biden also signed multiple executive orders taking an aggressive stance on the COVID-19 pandemic. These are only a few of the many memorandums, proclamations and executive orders Biden signed on his first day as president.
On what he describes as his first day as president (4 days after his inauguration) Trump signed four executive orders. One, approving major infrastructure projects, another leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, a threat on funding to international groups that support abortion, and finally a hiring freeze on certain federal workers. He also met with business tycoons including Elon Musk, Mark fields and Marillyn Hewson.
President Biden signed 8 executive orders and a memorandum all of them to do with the Coronavirus and the battle we are all currently facing. Biden has introduced new laws regarding the wearing of masks and has planned to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office. Additionally, on his second day in office, Biden supported the reopening of schools in the US and the continuation of safe in-person learning.
The pandemic will be a very challenging task that President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris will face during their term. Especially in combination with undoing the majority of the work Trump had done as president. The next 4 years promise to be exhausting yet full of promise for President Biden and Vice-President Harris.
