Climate, fight against the pandemic, social measures… Joe Biden is preparing to sign 15 decrees to reverse Donald Trump’s decisions

A few hours before his inauguration as President of the United States, Joe Biden announced Wednesday, January 20 that he would take, the same day, 15 decrees to reverse the flagship measures of Donald Trump.

These decrees, which he will sign in the afternoon, are intended to deal with “Crises” health, economic, climatic, and that of racial inequalities, said its spokesperson Jen Psaki.

Immunologist Anthony Fauci will speak on behalf of the United States at a meeting of the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, said Jeff Zients, who coordinates the new administration’s response to the Covid pandemic -19, during a press conference. A return to the WHO, left in May by Donald Trump, is on the program.

To limit the spread of the virus, which has killed 400,000 in the country, the president will also sign a decree to make it compulsory to wear a mask in federal buildings, or for federal agents. Another will give birth to an agency attached to the White House responsible for coordinating health action against the coronavirus.

In order to mitigate its impact on people who have lost their income, it will also extend the moratorium on housing evictions and the pause in federal student loan repayments, he added.

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  • Measures in favor of the climate

The Democrat, who has made the fight against global warming another priority of his mandate, will send a letter to the United Nations (UN) on Wednesday so that the United States can join the Paris agreement of here at one month, added Gina McCarthy, responsible for this file within the new presidential team. The Trump administration initiated its withdrawal from the agreement in November 2019, which took effect a year later.

He will also revisit a series of deregulation measures taken by the outgoing administration in terms of environmental standards, and revoke the authorization given by Donald Trump to the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project between the United States and Canada.

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  • Measures on the fight against immigration

In terms of migration policy, he will also take the opposite view of Donald Trump, who had made the fight against illegal immigration a marker of his presidency.

Joe Biden will thus cancel the “muslim ban”, a controversial migratory decree adopted by his predecessor to prohibit nationals of predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. This measure was “Rooted in xenophobia and religious animosity”, justified Jake Sullivan, the future national security adviser of the White House.

The Democrat will also sign a “Proclamation” to suspend construction work on a wall on the border with Mexico and its funding from the Pentagon budget, which has sparked bitter political and judicial battles over the past four years.

Joe Biden will send in parallel a bill on immigration to Congress. In particular, it will offer the 700,000 young people who arrived illegally in the United States when they were children, the “Dreamers”, and other immigrants in an irregular situation a possibility of naturalization in the long term and under conditions.

The reform project also provides for additional funds to strengthen surveillance and border controls and a plan of assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the countries of origin of most migrants, of $ 4 billion on four years.

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  • Measures to fight racism within administrations

Joe Biden will sign an executive order ordering federal agencies to assess inequalities in their programs and policies, said Susan Rice, future director of the home policy council, and to reinstate diversity training canceled by his predecessor.

The decisions of that first day are just the beginning, continued spokesperson for Joe Biden. “In the days and weeks to come, we will be announcing additional executive initiatives to address these challenges and deliver on the President-elect’s promises.”, he assured.

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Le Monde with AFP, AP and Reuters

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