I spent the months leading up to the election writing a series called 100 Days of Loving Joe Biden in which I laid out, one by one, 100 reasons to be excited about Biden (that had nothing to do with hating Trump).
Over the course of that series, I fell in love with Joe and became more and more convinced that he is exactly the right person for this moment.
The last three days have only reinforced my opinion. There is still an enormous amount of work to do and much of it will not be easy, but Joe’s first three days have shown us that we have a lot to be excited about.
Here are 33 amazing things Joe has already done.
1. Biden began a new, great plan to fight the virus
The reasons are not in any order except this one — fighting the virus is #1 to Biden and to America. And he is doing all he can to make this work
New strategy of the virus
In remarks in the White House State Dining Room, Biden outlined a new national strategy for combating the virus, signing 10 executive orders and other documents to streamline the federal government response, move toward reopening schools and businesses, ensure safer travel, and increase vaccinations, among other goals.
He called on Americans to “mask up” for the next 100 days, saying that doing so could save more than 50,000 lives. Biden’s tone was notably sober, contrasting not only with former president Donald Trump’s rhetoric, which was often full of superlatives and grand promises, but also with the tone of other presidents on many occasions.
Biden criticized Trump’s vaccine rollout as “a dismal failure” and called his own goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses within 100 days “one of the greatest operational challenges our nation has ever undertaken.”
In his actions and remarks on Thursday, he authorized the use of the Defense Production Act to increase efforts to combat the pandemic and increase vaccine distribution. “This is a wartime undertaking,” Biden said, noting that more Americans have died of covid-19 than in all of World War II.
The president’s early moves are the culmination of months of planning. His team began laying the groundwork last April, hiring staff and drafting proposals with an eye toward the opening days of a Biden presidency.
Biden will use the Defense Production Act in his anti-coronavirus effort
President Joe Biden will use the Defense Production Act to boost production of vaccines, testing, and personnel equipment to help ensure the US will have enough vaccines, testing, and protective equipment to withstand the coronavirus pandemic.
The move, part of a slew of executive orders at the start of his administration, will specifically allow government agencies like the State and Defense Departments to use the law to get materials to make more vials, syringes, and more.
More vaccines
The Biden administration is taking a series of actions to boost the distribution of vaccines: FEMA will build vaccination centers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will launch a new federal pharmacy program, and states will have new “Covid Response Liaisons to foster more cooperation, similar to those used during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Set up a Covid office that reports directly to Biden
Biden created a White House Covid-19 response team, led by Jeff Zients, that will coordinate across the federal government and with states on ramping up vaccinations, distributing more masks and gloves, expanding testing capacity, reopening schools and more. This order also reestablishes the National Security Council’s directorate for global health security and biodefense — an office disbanded by the Trump administration.
Biden’s covid-19 strategy should be applauded.
Less than 24 hours after taking office, President Biden has released a national strategy to combat covid-19. In firmly establishing the federal government’s leadership role in pandemic response, this action is a 180-degree reversal of the Trump administration’s approach of denial, deflection and capitulation.
2. Biden is protecting people from foreclosure and eviction in this awful time
Extend foreclosure and eviction moratoriums
Biden directed key agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to extend the current pause on federal evictions and foreclosures through at least the end of March.
3. Biden is taking steps to extend the US Russia nuclear deal
The last US-Russia nuclear arms deal is about to expire. Biden wants to extend it
President Joe Biden plans to extend the last remaining nuclear agreement between the US and Russia for another five years, according to a US official, potentially staving off the end of the modern arms control era and the possibility of a new arms race between the world’s foremost nuclear powers.
The deal expires February 5, and the Trump administration failed to reach an agreement with Russia to keep it alive. Now Biden is scrambling to do just that, aiming to invoke a provision that allows the leaders of both countries — himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin — to extend the accord up to five years. Russia has already expressed a desire to renew the deal for at least a year, maybe more.
Many arms control advocates are already ecstatic, as Biden’s proposal, which was first reported by the Washington Post, is something they’ve long sought
4. Biden communicated with the press
Jen Psaki plans to take questions from reporters each day.
President-elect Joe Biden's choice for White House press secretary says she will restore a tradition. Unlike her immediate predecessors in the Trump administration, Jen Psaki plans to take questions from reporters each day.
"I think more than any point in history ... part of the job of the White House press secretary is to rebuild trust with the American people," she says in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition.
Psaki promises to be "as fact-based as I can be." She says she won't limit right-wing media outlets' access to White House briefings but adds that "we're not going to allow the briefing room to be a platform for propaganda."
5. Biden froze student debt collection until at least the fall
Freeze student debt collection
Biden is immediately directing the Education Department to continue to freeze monthly payments and interest on most federal student loans until “at least” Sept. 30.
6. Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Accords!
Rejoin the Paris climate accords
Biden signed an order to rejoin the Paris climate accords that President Trump exited last year, sending the United Nations a document that will make the U.S. party to the agreement in 30 days. The international pact aims to push all countries to slash their greenhouse gas emissions
7. Biden revoked the Keystone XL pipeline permit!
Revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and cancel other Trump administration energy rules
Biden revoked the presidential permit for the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline that would have transported fossil fuels from Canada across the United States -- a project climate activists have protested for years. The order also directs federal agencies to start reversing and revising other Trump administration rules, including restoring protections and banning drilling in several national parks and national monuments and setting stricter emissions and fuel economy standards for vehicles.
8. Biden got rid of the racist, nativist 1776 commission
Nix the 1776 Commission
Biden terminated the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission, a project aimed at promoting a more conservative history curriculum in U.S. schools that existed for only a few months. The group released a report on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that contained several inaccuracies and paragraphs lifted from other published works. This executive order also directs all federal agencies to create an action plan within 200 days to “address unequal barriers to opportunity in agency policies and programs.” It also undoes the Trump administration’s policy that prohibited federal contractors and some grant recipients that conduct “any form of race or sex stereotyping,” including diversity training.
9. Biden removed Trump’s changes to the census giving more time and counting undocumented workers
Unwind Trump’s changes to the census
Biden signed an order revoking the Trump administration efforts to exclude undocumented immigration from the U.S. census, a change that would have weakened federal representation for diverse areas generally represented by Democrats. The order also ensures that census takers have enough time to obtain an accurate count of the population, reversing the Trump administration’s move to cut the work short.
10. Biden strengthened protections for dreamers!
Biden directed the secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the attorney general, to take actions to shore up the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that shielded hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation. The Trump administration tried to abolish the program but was stopped by federal courts.
11. Biden reversed the expansion of immigration enforcement within our borders
Cancel the Trump administration’s interior enforcement rule
Biden revoked a Trump executive order that massively expanded immigration officials’ interior enforcement work and broadened the categories of who they should try to detain and deport. His acting DHS secretary then issued a memo pausing deportations for 100 days beginning on Jan. 22.
12. Biden stopped wall construction
Halt construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall
Biden declared an immediate termination of the national emergency declaration that the Trump administration used to divert federal funding to building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, and ordered a pause on its construction while the new administration reviews the funding and contracts.
13. Biden abolished the Muslim ban
Abolish the “Muslim ban”
Biden got rid of the Trump administration’s ban on people from several majority Muslim countries entering the United States, a policy the new administration blasted as “rooted in religious animus and xenophobia.” The order also instructs the State Department to restart visa processing for the countries affected by the ban.
14. Biden expanded LGBTQ protections
Biden calls for LGBTQ protections in Day 1 executive order
On his first day in office, President Biden issued a sweeping executive order making it clear that gay and transgender people are protected against discrimination in schools, health care, the workplace and other realms of American life.
Biden’s order calls on agencies across the federal government to review existing regulations and policies that prohibit sex discrimination, and to revise them as necessary to clarify that “sex” includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,” Biden’s executive order states. “Adults should be able to earn a living and pursue a vocation knowing that they will not be fired, demoted, or mistreated because of whom they go home to or because how they dress does not conform to sex-based stereotypes. People should be able to access healthcare and secure a roof over their heads without being subjected to sex discrimination.”
15. Biden increased food aid to hungry Americans
President Biden to increase federal food benefits among executive actions aimed at stabilizing U.S. economy
Biden is asking the Department of Agriculture to allow states to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits — commonly known as food stamps — and to increase by 15 percent benefits awarded through a school meals program for low-income students started during the pandemic, according to Biden administration officials. That could give a family of three children more than $100 in extra benefits every two months, officials said.
Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters on a call Thursday night that the measures are meant as only partial solutions, as the administration kicks off negotiations with Congress on its $1.9 trillion relief economic proposal.
Biden’s order attempts in several ways to address the surge in hunger in America during the pandemic, with approximately 50 million people, including 17 million children, considered food insecure.
Perhaps the most significant change in this executive order is a reassessment of the USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, the basis for determining SNAP benefits. Lisa Davis, senior vice president of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, said the metrics are out of date with the economic realities most struggling households face. The president will ask the USDA to consider beginning the process of revising the Thrifty Food Plan to better reflect the modern cost of a healthy basic diet.
16. Biden ordered a full investigation into Russian hacking
Biden Orders Sweeping Assessment of Russian Hacking
President Biden ordered a sweeping review on Thursday of American intelligence about Russia’s role in a highly sophisticated hacking of government and corporate computer networks, along with what his spokeswoman called Moscow’s “reckless and adversarial actions” globally and against dissidents inside the country.
Mr. Biden also instructed Ms. Haines on Thursday to provide him with an assessment of the Kremlin’s effort to use a chemical weapon against Russia’s leading opposition politician, Aleksei A. Navalny. Mr. Navalny, who survived the attack, was arrested this week when he returned to Russia.
Ms. Haines was also asked to review intelligence that produced evidence that Russia put a “bounty” on the lives of American troops in Afghanistan.
17. Biden proposed the most progressive immigration bill ever
Biden’s immigration bill is the most progressive immigration bill ever
- It expedites citizenship for immigrant youth, TPS holders and farmworkers, creating a direct pathway to green cards and citizenship in 3 years.
- There is no funding for the wall, expanding detention or deportation.
- It prioritizes keeping families and communities together by eliminating the 3 and 10 year bars and allowing approved family members to wait for their green cards in the US, past policies that have split families and communities apart for years
- It eliminates LGBTQ+ discrimination by explicitly recognizing all partnerships in matters of immigration.
- It includes the NO BAN Act to limit presidential authority and prohibits discrimination against religions.
- It creates and expands protections for those going through deportation proceedings by providing orientation programs and counsel for children, vulnerable individuals, and others as well as hiring more judges and giving them back discretion to adjudicate cases.
Biden’s bold immigration plan would really put America first
PRESIDENT BIDEN has served notice that his ambitious immigration plan is in the first rank of his priorities. Some of his program will be immediately implementable; some may get bogged down in Congress, where many Republicans will regard it as an occasion to brandish the word “amnesty,” red meat for their bases. No matter. Mr. Biden’s plan is in keeping with the United States’ best traditions. It responds to the challenge of population stagnation. It would reverse his predecessor’s extravagantly cruel policies. And it is now clear that when it comes to immigration, Mr. Biden is all in.
That courageous stance was not necessarily expected or politically expedient.
His evident readiness to tap his modest reserves of political capital for a slugfest on immigration is a signal that the United States has returned to its roots as a beacon for refugees and a humanitarian role model among nations.
What’s more, by proposing an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the nation’s 11 million unauthorized migrants — the centerpiece of his plan — Mr. Biden is attempting to align law and reality.
Mr. Biden is moving quickly where he can — fully reinstating the Obama-era program providing work permits and deportation protection for “dreamers,” young migrants brought to this country by their parents; rescinding Mr. Trump’s 2017 travel ban from majority-Muslim countries; halting construction of the southern border wall; and reining in the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies. He has also signaled he will increase annual refugee admissions, which Mr. Trump poleaxed, and scrap a Trump administration rule that denies green cards to immigrants deemed likely to use public benefits such as food stamps.
Biden immigration bill would provide more protections for child migrants
President Joe Biden's immigration legislation will include new protections for children migrating from Central America, including the return of an Obama-era program that lets children apply for refugee or asylum status in the United States from their home countries.
18. Biden reinvested in cybersecurity
After big hack of U.S. government, Biden enlists 'world class' cybersecurity team
Biden is hiring a group of national security veterans with deep cyber expertise, drawing praise from former defense officials and investigators as the U.S. government works to recover from one of the biggest hacks of its agencies attributed to Russian spies.
“It is great to see the priority that the new administration is giving to cyber,” said Suzanne Spaulding, director of the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Cybersecurity was demoted as a policy field under the Trump administration. It discontinued the Cybersecurity Coordinator position at the White House, shrunk the State Department’s cyber diplomacy wing, and fired federal cybersecurity leader Chris Krebs in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s Nov. 3 election defeat.
19. Biden put in great leadership for the FCC and FTC
Biden selects Slaughter as acting chair of Federal Trade Commission, Rosenworcel as acting chair of Federal Communications Commission
President Biden on Thursday appointed Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as acting chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, a move that positions the Washington watchdog agency to take on a more aggressive role in policing Facebook, Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley.
Biden also designated Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as the acting chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission. Rosenworcel is a fervent supporter of net neutrality and has called on the FCC for years to put its muscle behind a massive effort to build out broadband to the country’s most unserved communities
The two appointments reflect the tectonic political shift underway in Washington as Democrats, newly in charge of the White House and Congress, prepare to roll back a slew of deregulatory actions implemented under President Donald Trump. Biden and his congressional counterparts over the past year have teased an ambitious digital agenda, promising to rein in Silicon Valley, rethink the legal protections afforded to tech giants and expand internet access nationwide.
20. Biden worked to strengthen unions
Execute order designed to protect workers
It is focused on protecting federal workers and contractors, in part by restoring collective bargaining power and worker protections by revoking measures that President Donald Trump had signed. It also eliminates Schedule F, a class of worker that Trump had established that stripped many federal civil service employees of job protections.
It asks agencies to take a look at which federal employees are earning less than $15 per hour and come up with recommendations to get them above that wage.
21. Biden fired toxic officials left over from Trump
Trump officials at labor board ousted by Biden after resisting removal
President Joe Biden is forcing out two Trump-era counsels from the National Labor Relations Board, the first time in more than 70 years a president has exercised that power over the agency.
National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb, a Trump appointee, was fired Wednesday after refusing a request from Biden to step down from his post. On Thursday, Biden asked for the resignation of Robb's replacement, Deputy General Counsel Alice Stock, by 5 p.m. or said she would be dismissed.
Robb's dismissal — hailed by union officials and their Democratic allies, who blame him for what they say is a pro-management turn in the labor board — marked the first time a president has removed the top lawyer at the NLRB since Harry Truman did so in 1950.
Organized labor had long opposed Robb, who also previously served as a management-side attorney and is known for kicking off the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s case to decertify the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization following the 1981 strike.
Michael Ellis, a Trump appointee at the N.S.A. who was sworn in on Tuesday, has been placed on leave.
The Biden administration on Wednesday put Michael Ellis, a Trump loyalist who was sworn in on Tuesday as the top lawyer for the National Security Agency, on administrative leave, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
Mr. Ellis’s last-minute appointment was ordered over the weekend by Christopher C. Miller, then the acting defense secretary, prompting Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call for an inspector general investigation of his selection and request that the Pentagon stop his swearing-in.
22. Biden beefed up the NSC
He helped Adam Schiff impeach Trump. Now he’s joining Biden’s NSC.
Adam Schiff’s top legal adviser is joining President Joe Biden’s National Security Council as its senior director for intelligence, a key role that serves as the day-to-day connective tissue between the intelligence community and the White House.
Maher Bitar, who has served as the general counsel for House Intelligence Committee Democrats since 2017 and played a key role during the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, is set to begin in the new job in the coming days, said two people familiar with the move. His official title will be senior director for intelligence programs.
“I am thrilled to see him in his new post, though we will certainly miss him on the committee,” Schiff told POLITICO. Schiff described Bitar as a “superb choice” for the role, adding that he has an “extraordinary” breadth of talent and expertise when it comes to the intelligence community and understands the challenges it faces after being “battered” by Trump for four years. “I can’t think of anyone more suited to the role than Maher,” Schiff said.
23. Biden called out white supremacy
24. Biden rejoined the WHO
Biden canceled Trump’s move to withdraw the country from the World Health Organization and, in an early show of commitment to the global health body, sent infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci to speak at the WHO’s virtual board meeting Thursday morning.
25. Biden unleashed the Fauci
Fauci, unchained
As of noon Wednesday, there is a new White House. And Fauci, speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, was clearly enjoying being unshackled.
“One of the new things in this administration is if you don’t know the answer, don’t guess,” he said with a chuckle. “Just say you don’t know the answer.”
A bit later, Fauci explained that his recommendations and thinking would be guided by the science, as it had been since the pandemic emerged. But here again, he drew a contrast with the prior administration.
“You’ve joked a couple of times today already about the difference that you feel in being kind of the spokesperson for this issue in this administration versus the previous one,” a reporter said. “Can you talk a little bit about how free, how much different do you feel? Less constrained?”
“You said I was joking about it. I was very serious about it,” Fauci replied, laughing. “I wasn’t joking.”
26. Biden got rid of burrowing
Biden To Toss Trump Plan That Would Have Made It Easier To Fire Top Civil Servants
President Biden plans to sign an order on Friday that will toss a plan that would have made it easier to fire top career civil servants and hire political appointees into high-ranking positions — a practice known as "burrowing."
Former President Donald Trump's plan to create the "Schedule F" category had been decried by federal unions as an attack on people he called the "deep state" when it was announced in October. The Biden White House was quick to cancel the classification, saying it "undermines the foundations of the civil service."finally…..
27. Biden picked Jaime Harrison to lead the DNC
28. Biden halted oil and gas leases for at least 60 days
The Biden administration has suspended new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits on U.S. lands and waters for 60 days as officials move to reverse the energy and environmental policies of the Trump administration
The suspension, part of a broad review of programs at the Department of Interior, went into effect immediately under an order signed Wednesday by Acting Interior Secretary Scott de la Vega. It follows Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to halt new drilling on federal lands and end the leasing of publicly owned energy reserves as part of his plan to address climate change.
29. Biden affirmed his commitment to reproductive freedom
Biden released a statement yesterday on the anniversary of Roe V Wade that said in part:
In the past four years, reproductive health, including the right to choose, has been under relentless and extreme attack. We are deeply committed to making sure everyone has access to care – including reproductive health care – regardless of income, race, zip code, health insurance status, or immigration status.
The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to codifying Roe v. Wade and appointing judges that respect foundational precedents like Roe. We are also committed to ensuring that we work to eliminate maternal and infant health disparities, increase access to contraception, and support families economically so that all parents can raise their families with dignity. This commitment extends to our critical work on health outcomes around the world.
30. Biden brought ethics back the White House
Biden signed an executive order that:
requires executive branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge barring them from acting in personal interest and requiring them to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice
31. Biden ordered all federal contractors to pay their workers a $15 minimum wage and provide emergency paid leave.
Biden executive order takes steps to require federal contractors pay $15 minimum wage
Biden plans to sign an executive order that will expand protections for federal workers, including putting federal agencies on a path to require a $15 minimum wage for contractors.
32. Biden ordered 'comprehensive threat assessment' of domestic violent extremism
Biden orders 'comprehensive threat assessment' of domestic violent extremism following Capitol riot
In the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, President Joe Biden is directing the intelligence community to assess the threat of domestic violent extremism in the U.S. and explore new policies to counter extremist networks.
A three-pronged effort, unveiled Friday by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, includes tasking the Office of the Director of National Intelligence with leading a “comprehensive threat assessment” to help shape policies to address the rise of domestic violent extremism. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security will consult on the work.
and finally…
33. Biden gave us a reason to hope
The Case for Biden Optimism
Biden is a genius at separating politics from the culture wars. He’s been a genius at sidestepping the Trump circus, including the hullabaloo it arouses on the left. We have endured an age of affective polarization, when we didn’t disagree more, we just hated each other more. Under Biden, the emotional temperature will go down.
Biden has the right agenda, the redistribution of dignity. A politician can tell the people who have been left behind that he hears them, and that’s words. But Biden wants to present them with a $1,400 check they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten, increase the child tax credit to $3,000 and create infrastructure jobs. That’s material proof that somebody in Washington understands what you are going through and is doing something real.
Will he be able to pass this sort of sweeping legislation? I have far from given up hope. Everyday, I read that Republicans will never go for these spending plans, and I always want to ask the writer: Have you noticed that Republicans have already voted for roughly $3 trillion in new spending over the last 10 months? Do not underestimate how divided and confused their party is right now. Do not underestimate how much Republicans trust Biden personally.
I was shocked by how moved I was by the Biden inaugural. We’ve been through an emotional hailstorm over four years. Suddenly the sky has cleared. It’s possible America may emerge from this trauma more transformed than we can imagine.
On the Lighter Side --Bernie Edition
I have some non-bernie memes below but I had to start with my favorites (and there were a lot of them) of the meme of the week. Bernie in that chair. In that coat. With those mittens.
On the Lighter Side — non-Bernie Edition
That is it for today.
I am so lucky and proud to be in this with all of you. ❤️ ✊ ❤️
We are going to do a fairly quick little celebration zoom at noon eastern. If you are reading this before noon eastern and want to participate, send me a kosmail at this link, tell me who you are and why you want to come and I will send you a link.
And finally….
Go Bills!