In his first hours as US president, Joe Biden plans to take executive action to roll back some of the most controversial decisions of his predecessor and to address the raging coronavirus pandemic, his incoming chief of staff said.
The opening salvo would herald a 10-day blitz of executive actions as Mr Biden seeks to act swiftly to redirect the country in the wake of Donald Trump's presidency without waiting for Congress.
On Wednesday, following his inauguration, Mr Biden will end Mr Trump's restriction on immigration to the US from some Muslim-majority countries, move to rejoin the Paris climate accord and mandate mask-wearing on federal property and during interstate travel. Those are among roughly a dozen actions Mr Biden will take on his first day in the White House, his incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, said in a memo to senior staff.
Other actions include extending the pause on student loan repayments and measures to prevent evictions and foreclosures for those struggling during the pandemic.
“These executive actions will deliver relief to the millions of Americans that are struggling in the face of these crises,” Mr Klain said in the memo.
“President-elect Biden will take action – not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration – but also to start moving our country forward.”
Mr Klain said "full achievement” of Mr Biden’s goals would require Congress to act, including on the $1.9 trillion virus relief bill he outlined on Thursday. Mr Biden will also propose a comprehensive immigration reform bill on his first day in office, he said.
Providing a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are in the US illegally will be part of Mr Biden's agenda, according to people briefed on his plans. Ali Noorani, president of the National Immigration Forum and among those briefed, said immigrants would be put on an eight-year path. There would be a faster track for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which shields people from deportation who came to the US as children, and for those from strife-torn countries with temporary status.
On Thursday, the new president's second day in office, Mr Biden will sign orders related to the Covid-19 outbreak aimed at reopening schools and businesses and expanding virus testing, Mr Klain said.
The following day, action will be taken to provide economic relief to those suffering the economic costs of the pandemic.
In the following week, Mr Biden will take additional actions relating to criminal justice reform, climate change and immigration – including a directive to speed up the reuniting of families separated at the US-Mexico border under Mr Trump’s policies, Mr Klain said.
More actions will be added once they clear legal review, he said.
Presidents traditionally move swiftly to sign an array of executive actions after they take office. Mr Trump did the same, but he found many of his orders challenged and even rejected by courts.
Mr Klain maintained that Mr Biden should not suffer similar issues.
"The legal theory behind them is well-founded and represents a restoration of an appropriate, constitutional role for the president," he said.
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The Trump era in photos:
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An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of US President Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021. Reuters -
Family members and loved ones of Jose Garcia, who died from Covid-19, cry as he is laid to rest at the San Jose Cemetery in La Mesa, New Mexico, on December 22, 2020. Reuters -
Trader Peter Tuchman wears a DOW 30,000 hat as he greets friends outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York, on November 24, 2020. Reuters -
Healthcare personnel prepare to discharge a patient who had been quarantining after a possible exposure to the Covid-19 at a hospital in Lakin, Kansas, on November 19, 2020. Reuters -
A cab driver raises his fist as people celebrate media announcing that Democratic US presidential nominee Joe Biden has won the 2020 US presidential election on Union Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on November 7, 2020. Reuters -
GOP poll challengers react after being asked to leave due to room capacity at the TCF Center after Election Day in Detroit, Michigan, on November 4, 2020. Reuters -
Dana Clark and her 18-month-old son Mason wait in line at City Hall as early voting begins for the upcoming presidential election in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 16, 2020. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump pulls off his protective face mask as he poses atop the Truman Balcony of the White House after returning from being hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center for Covid-19 treatment, on October 5, 2020. Reuters -
People hold a moment of silence during the march for Breonna Taylor in New York City, New York, on September 25, 2020. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump supporters try to catch a hat during a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on September 19, 2020. Reuters -
A man kneels as he brings a megaphone to a vigil on the steps of the US Supreme Court following the death of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on September 18, 2020. Reuters -
Alan Swinney points a gun during clashes between groups like Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer, and protesters against police brutality and racial injustice in Portland, Oregon, on August 22, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and US Senator and Democratic candidate for Vice President Kamala Harris celebrate after Joe Biden accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination during the 4th and final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 20, 2020. Reuters -
Lightning strikes above the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 14, 2020 as racial justice protests continue across the country. Reuters -
The casket of civil rights pioneer and longtime US Representative John Lewis, who died July 17, is placed by a USmilitary honor guard at the center of the US Capitol Rotunda to lie in state on July 27, 2020. Reuters -
Sandra Cruz, who lost her job because of the Covid-19 outbreak, and fell four months behind on her rent and is fearing eviction, and her daughter Gabriella wait for a ride after picking up free groceries distributed by the Chelsea Collaborative in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on July 22, 2020. Reuters -
"Chip" Charles Eichenberg, 72, excavates anthracite coal from a strip mine in New Castle, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2020. Reuters -
Protesters blocking an exit to the precinct of the officers who arrested Elijah McClain, cover their ears anticipating the use of flash-bang grenades by police in Aurora, Colorado, on July 3, 2020. Reuters -
Nurses Sasha Dubois and Farah Fevrin kneel for the eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence during a vigil at Brigham and Women’s Hospital against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 5, 2020. Reuters -
Health care workers stand in the street in counter-protest to hundreds of people who gathered at the State Capitol to demand the stay-at-home order be lifted in Denver, Colorado, on April 19, 2020. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump holds up a Bible as he stands in front of St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House after walking there for a photo opportunity during ongoing protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, on June 1, 2020. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump holds up a copy of USA Today's front page showing news of his acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial on February 6, 2020. Reuters -
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi rips up the speech of US President Donald Trump after his State of the Union address to a joint session of the US Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol on February 4, 2020. Reuters -
House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving and House Clerk Cheryl Johnson carry two articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump during a procession with the seven House impeachment managers through the Rotunda of the US Capitol to the US Senate on January 15, 2020. Reuters -
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing on the Office of Special Counsel's investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election on Capitol Hill on July 24, 2019. Reuters -
The contents of grain silos which burst from flood damage are shown in Fremont County Iowa, on March 29, 2019. Reuters -
Maria Meza, a 40-year-old migrant woman from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, runs away from tear gas with her five-year-old twin daughters Saira Mejia Meza, left, and Cheili Mejia Meza, right, in front of the border wall between the US and Mexico, in Tijuana, Mexico, on November 25, 2018. Reuters -
Mourners react outside a reception center for families of victims of a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 8, 2018. Reuters -
A White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN's Jim Acosta as he questions US President Donald Trump during a news conference following the midterm US congressional elections at the White House on November 7, 2018. Reuters -
Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar is greeted by her husband’s mother after appearing at her midterm election night party in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 6, 2018. Reuters -
Christine Blasey Ford closes her eyes as she is sworn in before testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill on September 27, 2018. Reuters -
A stadium security guard stands with her hand over her heart as Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall (54) and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) sit in silent protest during the national anthem prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on August 30, 2018. USA TODAY Sports / Reuters -
US first lady Melania Trump climbs into her motorcade vehicle wearing a Zara design jacket with the phrase "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" on the back as she returns to Washington from a visit to the US-Mexico border area in Texas, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 21, 2018. Reuters -
Immigrant children are led by staff in single file between tents at a detention facility next to the Mexican border in Tornillo, Texas, on June 18, 2018. Reuters -
A border patrol agent apprehends a woman and a man after they were caught illegally crossing into the US border from Mexico near McAllen, Texas, on May 2, 2018. Reuters -
Supporters of the National Socialist Movement, a white nationalist political group, give Nazi salutes while taking part in a swastika burning at an undisclosed location in Georgia, on April 21, 2018. Reuters -
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify before a Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees joint hearing regarding the company’s use and protection of user data, on Capitol Hill on April 10, 2018. Reuters -
White House Communications Director Hope Hicks leaves the US Capitol after attending the House Intelligence Committee closed door meeting on February 27, 2018. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump speaks while participating in a tour of US-Mexico border wall prototypes near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego, California, on March 13, 2018. Reuters -
Ruth Santiago refreshes herself with water from a pipe after Hurricane Maria destroyed the town's bridge in San Lorenzo, Morovis, Puerto Rico, on October 4, 2017. Reuters -
Cataldo Ambulance medics and other first responders revive a 32-year-old man who was found unresponsive and not breathing after an opioid overdose on a sidewalk in the Boston suburb of Everett, Massachusetts, on August 23, 2017. Reuters -
A photograph of Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer is seen amongst flowers left at the scene of the car attack on a group of counter-protesters that took her life during the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 14, 2017. Reuters -
A young girl dances with an American flag in baggage claim while women pray behind her during a protest against the travel ban imposed by US President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, on January 29, 2017. Reuters
