Joe Biden inked 45 executive orders so far: From Covid-19 to immigration, here's the complete list
President Joe Biden created a history of sorts by signing as many as 15 executive orders (EOs) on his very first day in the office and on February 2, the 14th day since he took oath as the 46th president of the US, the number of EOs he signed stood at 45. No other president in the history of the nation signed so many EOs in such a short span of time after coming to the office and some of those orders include reversing some key foreign policy and national security issues of his predecessor Donald Trump.
In terms of categories, Biden signed 15 executive orders related to coronavirus, eight to immigration, six to environment and equity each, five related to economy, two to healthcare and one related each to the census, regulation and ethics.
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Here we take a brief look at all the 45 EOs that the 78-year-old president signed between January 20, his first day in office, and February 2:
January 20:
CORONAVIRUS:
Biden launches a “100 Days Masking Challenge” asking the people of America to wear masks for 100 days. As per this order, masks and physical distancing are required in federal buildings, on federal lands and by government contractors and it also urges state and local governments to follow the same.
CORONAVIRUS:
This EO sets up the position of Coordinator of the Covid-19 Response and Counselor to the president and the post-holder will report directly to the president and manage efforts to produce and distribute vaccines and other medical equipment.
CORONAVIRUS (Reversal of Trump policy):
In this order reversing a Trump policy, Biden halts the US’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) with infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci picked as the leader of the American delegation to the world health body.
ECONOMY:
Under this EO, the prevailing pause on student loan payments and interest for Americans with federal student loans are extended till at least September 30.
ECONOMY:
This EO extends the existing nationwide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures till at least March 31. The order extends eviction protections for the US’s 44 million rental households.
ENVIRONMENT (Reversal of Trump policy):
By signing this EO, Biden took the US back into the Paris climate deal and a process was set to take 30 days. Trump had pulled America out of the climate deal in 2017, months after getting elected as the president.
ENVIRONMENT (Reversal of Trump policy):
Under this EO, Biden abrogated the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission and asked agencies to review their actions so as to promote racial equity.
ENVIRONMENT (Reversal of Trump policy):
By signing this EO, Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline with Canada and asked agencies to review and reverse over 100 actions that Trump took on the environment.
EQUITY:
This EO prevents workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation/gender identity.
CENSUS (Reversal of Trump policy):
By signing this EO, Biden blocked the Census Bureau from excluding undocumented immigrants from the apportionment data used to determine how many seats in the Congress that each state gets.
IMMIGRATION:
This EO fortified the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, something Trump targeted to curb protections for undocumented people who came to the US as children.
IMMIGRATION (Reversal of Trump policy):
This EO undid the Trump administration’s restrictions on the entry of passport holders from seven Muslim-majority nations into the US.
IMMIGRATION:
This EO extended deferrals of deportation and work authorizations for Liberians with a safe haven in America till June 30, 2022.
IMMIGRATION (Reversal of Trump policy):
This EO reverses Trump’s expansion of immigration enforcement within the US.
IMMIGRATION (Reversal of Trump policy):
President Biden, by signing this EO, stopped the construction of the border wall, one of the former president’s pet projects, by terminating the national emergency declaration which is used to fund it.
ETHICS:
This EO requires the executive branch to sign an ethics pledge that stops them from acting in personal interest and asking them to uphold the justice department’s independence.
REGULATION (Reversal of Trump policy):
This EO asks the Office of Management and Budget to come up with recommendations to modernize regulatory review and undo the former president’s regulatory approval process.
January 21:
CORONAVIRUS:
This EO accelerated the manufacture and delivery of supplies for vaccination, testing and Personal Protective Equipment.
CORONAVIRUS:
Under this EO, the Pandemic Testing Board is set up to expand America’s coronavirus-testing capacity.
CORONAVIRUS:
This EO asks the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expand reimbursing to the states to fully cover the cost of the National Guard officials and emergency supplies.
CORONAVIRUS:
This EO asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to provide clear guidance on Covid-19 and asked OSHA to implement worker health and safety requirements.
CORONAVIRUS:
President Biden, under this EO directed the education and health and human services departments to provide guidelines on safe reopening and operation of schools, childcare providers as well as higher education institutes.
CORONAVIRUS:
This EO of President Biden sets up a pre-clinical program to boost the development of therapeutics in response to threats posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
CORONAVIRUS:
This presidential directive looked to support the international effort to deal with coronavirus pandemic, promote resilience for threats that may arise in the future and advance global health security -- all aimed at restoring the US’s leadership.
CORONAVIRUS:
This order aims at bettering the US’s collection, production, sharing and analysis of data related to the deadly virus that has killed more than 450,000 people.
CORONAVIRUS:
This order issued by the president asks FEMA to set up community vaccination centers with federal support.
CORONAVIRUS:
This order asked for the wearing of masks in airports and on certain modes of transportation – trains, planes, maritime vessels and buses included. It also called for international travelers to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test before arriving on America’s shores.
CORONAVIRUS:
This EO set up the Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force to ensure a fair pandemic response and recovery.
January 22:
ECONOMY:
This EO called for assistance to those who are facing hardships in buying food and missed out on stimulus checks or are without jobs.
ECONOMY (Reversal of Trump policy):
This EO by Biden restored federal workers’ collective bargaining power and worker protections besides setting up the foundation for a minimum wage of $15.
January 25:
EQUITY (Reversal of Trump policy):
This order reversed the former administration’s ban on transgender Americans from joining the military.
CORONAVIRUS (Reversal of Trump policy):
This EO reinstated travel restrictions related to Covid-19 for individuals traveling to America from the Schengen Area, UK, Ireland and South Africa.
ECONOMY:
This order closed loopholes and reduced waivers granted on federal purchases of domestic goods to make ‘Buy American’ rules robust.
January 26:
EQUITY:
Under this EO, President Biden recommitted the federal agencies to “engage in regular, robust and meaningful consultation with Tribal governments”.
EQUITY:
This EO asked the attorney general against renewing federal contracts with private prisons.
EQUITY:
This order acknowledged the rise in discrimination against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) over the past year and directed the health and human services department to consider issuing guidance to better “cultural competency, language access and sensitivity toward AAPIs” in the federal government’s Covid-19 response besides asking the justice department to partner with AAPI communities to prevent hate crimes and harassment.
EQUITY:
This EO asked the housing and urban development department to review the previous administration’s regulatory actions on fair housing and to take necessary steps to comply with the Fair Housing Act.
January 27:
ENVIRONMENT:
This EO put the responsibility on the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure scientific integrity across all federal agencies.
ENVIRONMENT:
Under this order, the Biden administration made climate change an essential element of the American foreign policy and national security and kicked off the development of a fresh emissions reduction goal, due to be announced on April 22.
ENVIRONMENT:
This order re-established the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
January 28:
HEALTHCARE (Reversal of Trump policy):
Under this EO, Biden removed the “Mexico City Policy” -- a ban on the US administration’s funding for pro-abortion foreign nonprofits.
HEALTHCARE:
This order sought enrollment on HeathCare.gov between February 15 and May 15 and asked the agencies to review policies that may undermine or reduce access to the Affordable Care Act.
February 2:
IMMIGRATION (Reversal of Trump policy):
Under this order, the new administration aimed at addressing economic and political reasons that lead to migration, in order to work with organizations that extend protection to asylum-seekers and provide asylum seekers from Central America to get legal access in the US. This order revokes Trump’s policies and starts a review of policies “that have effectively closed the US border to asylum seekers”.
IMMIGRATION (Reversal of Trump policy):
This order reversed the former president’s order justifying the separation of families at the border and set up a task force that recommends steps to Biden to reunite those families.
IMMIGRATION (Reversal of Trump policy):
This order rescinded Trump’s memo asking immigrants to repay the government if they gain from public benefits. This order adds to the executive branch’s responsibility in promoting immigrant migration and inclusion and includes the setting up of a Task Force on New Americans.