Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States Wednesday, Jan. 20. This event marks the beginning of Biden’s four-year term as president, along with Kamala Harris as vice president. Harris is the United States’ first female vice president, the highest ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African American and Asian American vice president. They defeated Republican incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
This inauguration was unlike any other in U.S. history. Very few live audience members were allowed to be present, face coverings were required, testing and temperature checks were performed and social distancing was encouraged in order to mitigate potential spread of COVID-19.
However, a public health crisis was not the only serious threat facing Biden’s inauguration. A few short weeks ago, a national security crisis took place at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, the same day as the Electoral College vote count to validate Biden’s victory. A mob of thousands of supporters of former president Trump stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Trump falsely claimed that there was widespread voter fraud that caused Biden’s election as president. The rioters demanded that Pence and Congress reject Biden’s victory. Luckily, lawmakers were able to be evacuated as the mob stormed, occupied and looted the Capitol building despite police efforts. The rioters were cleared from the Capitol later that day, and the electoral vote count was resumed and completed the following morning. Pence also officially declared Biden and Harris the victors, and Trump later committed to a diplomatic transition of power.
Due to these events, the crowd was sharply reduced and security was increased to prevent the potential for violence among national civil unrest. However, the ceremony itself took place peacefully, and it notably included National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet, reciting her poem “The Hill We Climb.” Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Biden, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor did the same to Harris.
Biden had a busy first day officially in office as he signed 17 executive orders, over half of which reversed a Trump-era policy. An executive order is a directive from the president of the United States to federal agencies that often have the same power as a law.
Several of the executive orders were a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In direct opposition to Trump’s lax support of COVID-19 safety precautions, Biden is asking all Americans to commit to wearing a mask for 100 days. This order will require individuals to wear face coverings and social distance in all federal buildings. Biden also halted the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), which Trump announced his plans for doing so in May 2020. Biden has designated Jeff Zients as the official COVID-19 response coordinator as well as reestablished the directorate for global health security and biodefense position.
Biden has extended the current moratorium on evictions and foreclosures through at least March 31 and existing pause on student loan payments through at least Sept. 30.
Biden is reentering the U.S. into the 2016 Paris Agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. In a similar environmental vein, he is pulling permits from the Keystone XL pipeline. He is also banning workplace discrimination against gay and transgender employees and removing Trump’s controversial 1776 Commission.
Several of the orders involve Trump’s policies on immigration. Biden is ensuring the existence of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy and ending Trump’s policy of prioritizing the deportation of undocumented immigrants. He is stopping construction of the border wall, and rescinding the “Muslim ban” that prevented foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Biden is extending temporary protections to Liberians from deportation until June 30, 2022 as well as requiring that noncitizens be counted in the U.S. Census.
Biden’s presidency continues to be eventful with the start of Trump’s second impeachment trial. The Senate voted Wednesday, Feb. 9 that the trial is constitutional and will proceed.
