President Biden’s First 100 Days: “And He’s Off & Running”

On Jan. 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States and Kamala Harris took the oath of office as his Vice President. In the air, you could almost feel the collective sigh of relief or the grumble of more civil unrest. Arguably the first 100 days of office of any sitting president sets the tone for what the presidency will be like for the next four years. Most incoming administrations work side by side with the outgoing president to ensure a peaceful transfer of power; however, this election was anything but peaceful. President, Joseph R. Biden and Vice President, Kamala D. Harris, as well as the rest of their confirmed or appointed cabinet members, have rolled up their sleeves to start the process of unifying America without the aid of the former president or his administration.

The lack of cooperation between the two political camps was not a hindrance for President Biden or Vice President Harris, in fact, you can say that this was a call to arms.

Within hours of being sworn into office, President Biden signed executive orders that have stopped work on a pipeline, moved to restore DACA provisions, signed executive orders that will strive to relieve the financial strain put on Americans due to the impact of Covid-19, moved to re-enter the WHO and one of the most controversial orders he signed was the mandate on national mask-wearing on federal property.  All of this to unify America and bring about the sense that we will overcome this dark period in our country’s history.

Democrats control the House, Senate, and of course, the White House, however, there is a sense that it is not about political parties, it is not about blue or red, or left vs right; what it is about is what is best for our country.  What is that? That is the major question.  President Biden won this election for many reasons yet no matter what they are, now is not the time to gloat, spread more hate, or insight one another into wars of words or fists.  During the next 80+ days President Biden will march forward with his plans to make our country not necessarily “Great Again” but an America we can be proud of, a country that songs are written about. 

We can hope to see during this presidency many more executive orders and crossing of the aisles to do what is best for our country and its people. The Department of Education is putting a pause on student loans, the rejoining of the Paris climate agreement was a priority,  as well as having a cabinet that is representative of what our country really looks like.  Many firsts have already occurred such as the possible appointment of Pete Buttigieg as the first openly gay person to be in charge of the Department of Transportation, two Native American women in Congress, and the first Latino U.S. senator, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, of the state of California.  We can hope to see much success as well as firsts within this administration but I am equally sure that there will be many challenges for President Biden to address. 

Here is a list of some of the other items that President Biden will address in the next couple of months:

• A comprehensive roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine to more Americans.
• Reversal of former President Trump’s corporate tax cut
• Comprehensive immigration changes, such as the stopping of family separation at the U.S.- Mexico border.
• Increased police reform.
• Something every college student and their parents will be very happy about, his support of the College for All Act, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA 7th District in 2017.

As the country moves forward in these new times this is a call to all Americans to embrace some change and the rediscovery of treating others with common decency and respect.