The US media reported that President-elect Joe Biden plans to sign a number of executive orders that would reverse many of President Donald Trump’s controversial policies, including his decision to withdraw from Paris climate accord, once he is inaugurated.
According to media reports, the orders do not require congressional approval.
Biden is supposed to sign an order informing the United States’ intention to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, which the country officially left on Wednesday.
He will reverse the decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization, repeal the travel ban on citizens from seven mostly Muslim countries, and reinstate the Democratic Government’s policy of granting immigration status to undocumented migrants who entered the US as children.
In his first concrete action as President-Elect, Biden on Monday launched an aggressive plan to control the coronavirus pandemic, and formed a coronavirus task force to implement it.
The Biden-Harris Transition announced the formation of the Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, which consists of a team of leading scientists and public health experts who will advise President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris, and the Transition’s COVID-19 staff.
The Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board will be led by co-chairs Dr. David Kessler, Dr. Vivek Murthy, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith. Dr. Beth Cameron and Dr. Rebecca Katz are serving as advisors to the Transition on COVID-19 and will work closely with the Advisory Board. Dr. Luciana Borio, Dr. Rick Bright, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Dr. Atul Gawande, Dr. Celine Gounder, Dr. Julie Morita, Dr. Michael Osterholm, Ms. Loyce Pace, Dr. Robert Rodriguez , and Dr. Eric Goosby are the other members of the board.
“The Board will consult with state and local officials to determine the public health and economic steps necessary to get the virus under control, to deliver immediate relief to working families, to address ongoing racial and ethnic disparities, and to reopen our schools and businesses safely and effectively”.
The transition team made clear the incoming administration’s priorities are fighting the challenges posed by the pandemic, economic crisis, powerful calls for racial justice, and the existential threat of climate change.
The Biden-Harris administration promises to lead “a just and equitable recovery that rebuilds a strong, inclusive middle class and builds an economy for the future.”
“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” said the President-elect. “The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations,” Biden added.
President Trump was at odds with the country’s top infectious diseases expert in many policy matters concerning the pandemic.
In his testimony before the Senate in May, Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, had warned of avoidable suffering and death, and further economic damage, if states reopen too quickly. But Trump ignored the warning and called for reopening businesses and schools.
The former Vice President has already won 279 electoral votes against Trump’s 214, and is leading in Michigan and Georgia.
Trump leads in North Carolina and Florida. The Trump Campaign is set to file multiple lawsuits challenging the legal validity of counting postal ballots after the Election day.
Twitter flagged a series of Fox News video footages posted on Trump’s Twitter page with the remark, “This claim about election fraud is disputed.”
“Stock market up big, vaccine coming soon. Report 90% effective. Such great news,” Trump tweeted on Monday after the U.S. stock markets surged responding to progress on Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine and Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
A Republican who claimed to have voted for Biden commented on this: “The 20th amendment says on Jan 20th at 12pm his presidency is over. At that point, he does not have the legal right to be in the Whitehouse, and I’m sure the military would be the ones to remove him at that point”.
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