Biden’s First Twelve Days in Office

President Joe Biden has wasted no time during his first 12 days in office. So far, he has issued 24 executive orders, 10 presidential memos, and four proclamations. Former President Bill Clinton was the last president to issue an executive order on his first day of office in 1993. Biden already has almost half of the number of executive orders that former President Trump issued in his first year. 

The following lists everything that Biden has accomplished so far in office. 

The coronavirus 

• – Reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions for Ireland, South Africa, UK and Schengen Area. Persons wishing to enter the U.S. must now show a negative COVID-19 test to enter the country. 
• – Accelerated manufacturing and delivery of supplies for vaccination, testing and Personal Protective Equipment.
• – Established the Pandemic Testing Board for COVID-19 testing capability.
• – Directed FEMA to create federally supported community vaccination centers.
• – Required masks in airports and for the following methods of transportation: airports, aircraft, trains, public maritime vessels, intercity buses and all forms of public transportation as defined in section 5302 of title 49, United States Code.
• – Created the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.
• – Launched a “100 Days Masking Challenge” urging Americans to wear their masks for 100 days. Federal buildings, federal lands and government contractors are all required to wear masks and socially distance. 
• – Stopped the U.S.’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization with Dr. Anthony Fauci as the head.
• – Created the position of COVID-19 Response Coordinator, currently Jeffrey Zients, which manages personnel across the federal government and reports directly to Biden.

International relations

• – Rescinded the “Mexico City Policy” banning U.S. government funding for foreign nonprofits to perform or promote abortions.
• – Required non-citizens to be included in the census and apportionment of congressional representatives.

– Reversed the Trump administration’s restrictions on U.S. entry for passport holders from several Muslim-majority countries.

– Rejoined the Paris climate accord to reduce global warming, 

Infrastructure and administration

– Began reformation of the U.S.’s incarceration system. The Attorney General will not renew any contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities.

– Revoked four executive orders regarding federal workers, Schedule F and the Interagency Labor Relations Working Group. (The Executive Orders revoked are as follows: 13957, 13836, 13837 and 13839. The presidential memorandum of Oct. 11, 2019 regarding these executive orders was also revoked.)

– Ordered all executive departments and agencies to identify actions to take to address economic unrest due to the pandemic. Independent agencies are also encouraged to follow this order.

– Required executive branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge, which bars them from acting in personal interest and requires them to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice.

– Re-established the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. This council will advise the president on matters involving policies affecting science, technology, scientific and technological information relating to the economy, worker empowerment, education, energy, the environment, public health, national and homeland security, racial equity or other topics.

– Reversed ban on transgender Americans joining the military. Per a 2016 study, not only will there be only a minimal change in military readiness and healthcare costs, but there also has been no significant impact on operational effectiveness or unit cohesion in foreign militaries with open transgender service.

– Revoked the March 2019 Keystone XL pipeline and wants to reverse more than 300 environmental policies enforced by Trump.

– Halted construction of the border wall by terminating the national emergency declaration used to fund it.

– Signed a memorandum directing Housing and Urban Development to promote equitable housing politics.

– Initiated regulatory actions regarding climate change, reinstating it as a national priority.