President-elect Joe Biden’s aides say the president will sign more executive orders on day-one than any of his predecessors, followed by additional regulatory and policy changes over the coming weeks, Bloomberg reports.
Senior members of the Biden’s policy team said in a press briefing Tuesday that Biden will sign the executive orders from the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon following his inauguration.
The orders will focus on health, racial equality, climate change, ethics, and reversing some legacy orders issued by outgoing-President Donald Trump. The agenda for day one executive orders include:
- Rejoining the World Health Organization (WHO), which Trump exited in May. Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci will represent the U.S. in the WHO’s executive board meeting Thursday.
- Issuing a mask mandate that will require face coverings and physical distancing in federal buildings and on federal lands. Biden will also issue a “100 Day Masking Challenge” asking Americans to mask for his administration’s first 100 days. Jeff Zients, leader of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response, said, “This is clearly a national emergency, and we will treat it as such. To equitability distribute the vaccine as quickly as possible, we need all hands on deck to ramp up getting shots in arms, and we’re going to put everyone to work.”
- Directing federal agencies to extend eviction and foreclosure moratoriums until at least March 31.
- Ending restrictions on travel and immigrationfrom some predominantly Muslim countries and resume visa processing. The order intends to develop a plan to address people who were denied entry to the United States.
- Rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and restore Obama-era efforts to combat climate change.
- Revoking the permits to the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was rejected by Obama but approved by Trump. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was “making sure that Canada’s views are heard and considered by the incoming administration.”
- Reviewing fuel standards and issuing a temporary moratorium on all oil and natural gas leasing activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
- Repealing the national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border and halt construction of the barrier.
- Counting noncitizens for the U.S. Census.
- Bolstering sanctuaries and the DACA Program.
- Reviewing all government agencies for racial equality, requiring each department and agency to conduct a baseline review of whether its policies disadvantage any demographic group.
- Closing down the 1776 Commission, a project Trump created last year to counter efforts to teach American students the foundational role slavery played in the nation’s creation.
- Introducing a new protection prohibiting workplace discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
- Establishing ethics rules for political appointees across the administration.
This story originally appeared on Benzinga.
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