Getting the bad taste of the Trump administration out of our collective mouths would have been a tall order for any Democrat. Whatever President-elect Joe Biden does upon taking office will draw criticism from the right for being too much and from the left for being too little. It comes with the territory.
Biden has a lot to clean up starting Day 1. He will start with a flurry of executive orders meant to undo the damage Trump did to the U.S. and its international image. Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain issued a memo outlining Biden’s first-week agenda. Politico reports that after his swearing-in on Wednesday, “Biden will rescind the travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries, rejoin the Paris climate accords, extend limits on student loan payments and evictions instituted during the pandemicand issue a mask mandate on federal properties and for interstate travel.”
That is just the appetizer:
On Biden’s second day in office, he will sign executive actions focused on addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, including ways to help schools and business reopen safely, expand testing, protect workers and establish clearer public health standards. The next day, Biden will direct his Cabinet to work on delivering economic relief to families most affected by the crisis.
In subsequent days, Biden will expand “Buy America provisions,” take action to advance “equity and support communities of color,” begin to reform the criminal justice, expand access to healthcare and work toward reuniting families separated at the border. Klain did not specify what these actions would entail, but the memo follows Biden’s introduction this week of his legislative agenda, which includes a $1.9 trillion relief bill.
Biden plans a 10-day sprint not only of executive orders but legislative proposals including his $1.9 trillion stimulus and pandemic relief package.
Already that relief package has drawn criticism. “We will finish the job of getting a total of $2,000 in direct relief to people who need it the most,” Biden said in a speech Thursday evening. “The $600 already appropriated is simply not enough.”
Did that mean Congress should authorize an additional $1400 in stimulus checks for Americans on top of the $600 already approved, or should the checks be for an additional $2,000?
“$2,000 means $2,000. $2,000 does not mean $1,400,″ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said. Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush joined her in that demand.
Summer Lin wrote at the Miami Herald:
“The people deserve, demand and require $2,000 recurring monthly survival checks,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts wrote on Twitter.
Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat representing Massachusetts, reiterated support for legislation he helped write that would provide monthly $2,000 payments for people who make up to $120,000 during the pandemic.
“The new Congress needs to pass my legislation with [Sen. Bernie Sanders] to give people $2,000 every month,” Markey wrote on Twitter Friday.
Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York replied to Markey on Twitter Friday: “Count me in.”
Deficit hawks will be circling, naturally. Honestly, I thought the deal was $2,000 total. Maybe I was too busy fretting about violent insurrection to pay close attention. Those struggling to feed their families and at risk of being thrown out of their apartments probably listened more closely.