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Facing crush of crises, Joe Biden will take the helm as US president. Photo: AP

Joe Biden plans immediate executive actions as Donald Trump era ends

  • Biden to start undoing Trump policies from day one
  • Trump leaves the White House with legacy of chaos
In his first hours as US president, Joe Biden will aim to strike at the heart of Donald Trump’s policy legacy, signing at least 15 executive actions that reverse his predecessor’s orders on immigration, climate change and handling of the coronavirus pandemic, kicking off what will likely be the most difficult transfers of power in US history.
Biden will end construction on Trump’s Mexico border wall, end the ban on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization (WHO), and revoke the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, aides said. The new president was planning to sign the orders almost immediately after taking the oath of office at the Capitol, pivoting quickly from his pared-down inauguration ceremony to enacting his agenda.

These actions will be followed by dozens more in the next 10 days, aides said.

The executive actions were an attempt to essentially rewind the last four years of federal policies with striking speed. Only two recent presidents signed executive actions on their first day in office – and each signed just one. But Biden, facing the debilitating coronavirus pandemic that left more than 400,000 Americans dead, was intent on demonstrating a sense of urgency and competence that he argues has been missing under Trump.

Complicating matters, Biden administration officials were met with varying levels of cooperation from Trump appointees across departments.

“Transition is not a priority” for the US Trade Representative’s office, USTR Robert Lighthizer’s chief of staff told a Biden official, Politico reported, citing a person familiar with the conversation, a situation that will likely leave the incoming team to manage disorganisation instead of the tasks at hand.

Trump started a trade war with China in July 2018 with punitive tariffs on US$34 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move that sparked an immediate response by Beiijng with duties on an equivalent amount of US goods. The two sides eventually reached a “phase-one” trade deal a year ago, whereby China agreed to boost purchases of US goods, but further progress stalled as the coronavirus pandemic continued to strain bilateral relations through to the final days of Trump’s term.

Joe Biden: biography, net worth, family tragedy and path to presidency

Underscoring the disconnect between the two administrations, Trump skipped the inauguration, a first for an outgoing US president, instead boarding Air Force One for Palm Beach, Florida two hours before ceremonies were to begin at the US Capitol.

“Have a good life, we’ll see you soon,” Trump said at the end of remarks delivered to a crowd of supporters at Joint Base Andrews. The former president discarded prepared remarks in which, according to the New York Times, he was supposed to have thanked Biden by name.

Zeff Zients, the new president’s point-man for fighting the pandemic, said Biden would start by establishing an office of Covid-19 response inside the White House.

A 100-day “masking challenge” will be led with a presidential order for wearing masks in all federal properties and activities, setting the standard for private companies, individual states and communities to follow suit, Zients said.

The orders reach well beyond the pandemic. Biden intends to order a review of all Trump regulations and executive actions that are deemed damaging to the environment or public health.

Biden “will take action – not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration – but also to start moving our country forward,” the aides said in a statement.

03:07

Donald Trump releases farewell speech on eve of stepping down as US president

Donald Trump releases farewell speech on eve of stepping down as US president

“These actions are bold, begin the work of following through on President-elect Biden’s promises to the American people, and, importantly, fall within the constitutional role for the president.”

Many of the actions will take government policies back to where they were on January 19, 2017 – the final day of the Barack Obama-Joe Biden administration, before Trump entered office and took a wrecking ball to many of their initiatives.

In another effort to signal a return to pre-Trump times, Jen Psaki, the incoming White House press secretary, said she would hold a news briefing late Wednesday in a symbol of the administration’s commitment to transparency. Trump’s White House had all but abandoned the practice of briefing reporters daily.

History of US inauguration dramas, snubs and sore losers

On the diplomacy front, countries around the world expressed cautious hope for a reset in relations while prioritising their own interests.

China was hoping for “a collaboration beneficial to both sides,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said. But China would preserve its own interests and national security and not be defamed by the US, the spokesperson added.
The comments come after the designated incoming secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, named relations with China as a central challenge for the US on Tuesday.
A sea of US flags near the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: AFP

Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani hailed the White House departure of “tyrant” Trump, saying “the ball is in America’s court” to return to a landmark nuclear deal and lift sanctions on Tehran.

In Russia, the Kremlin said that any improvement in Moscow’s tense relationship with Washington would depend on Biden.

Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the inauguration would “be a demonstration of the resilience of American democracy”, as well as “the resounding proof that, once again, after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House”.

Pelosi says Trump could be accessory to murder after Capitol riot

Biden, 78, will be he oldest US president in history. Ceremonies in Washington were stripped of their usual pomp and circumstance, due both to the coronavirus as well as security concerns following the January 6 assault on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

04:58

US presidential inaugurations throughout history: a look back as Joe Biden is set to take his oath

US presidential inaugurations throughout history: a look back as Joe Biden is set to take his oath

The violence prompted the Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives to impeach Trump last week for an unprecedented second time.

In a break with more than a century and a half of political tradition, Trump declined to meet with his successor and affirm the peaceful transfer of power.

In one of his last acts before departing for Florida, Trump issued scores of pardons to people convicted of crimes or facing charges, including influential former aide Steve Bannon.

Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, DPA, Bloomberg

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Day One, Biden to undo Trump policies on climate, virusWorld wakes up to new American leader
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