President Biden’s first fifty days are a grand slam
Throughout U.S. political history, candidates have made many promises to secure control of the highest office in the land. President Joe Biden is no different. While some who successfully become president have no intention of honoring their promises, President Joe Biden meant what he said. Wednesday, March 10, 2021, marked President Biden’s fiftieth day in office, and Associated Press outlined his accomplishments.
One of President Biden’s most important promises was combatting coronavirus with everything he had. Congress passed his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which includes many benefits beyond stimulus checks. He has also ramped up vaccinations and is on pace to hit his goal of 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days. He directed that states prioritize teachers to satisfy his promise to open schools, and Georgia has done that. In fact, in Georgia only teachers are getting the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine until more become available. Georgia also expanded eligibility to people 55 and up and those in the “high risk” category. This expansion becomes available Monday, March 15. No less important than the fight against COVID is the fight for our planet, and President Biden has already fulfilled several of his pledges.
On Inauguration Day, President Biden signed an executive order revoking the Keystone XL oil pipeline permit, stopped development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and ordered a full review of all Trump-era environmental policies. Biden also signed an executive order abolishing new oil and gas leases on federal land and offshore waters. He also rejoined the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord. At the same time, President Biden is working on immigration reform, which was made more complicated by Trump lackey Stephen Miller.
President Biden has unveiled his comprehensive reform bill on immigration. He has repealed the Migrant Protection Protocol, which was no protection at all as it left asylum seekers stranded in Mexican border towns. Some who have been waiting for over a year have been released into the U.S. with their families. All had to test negative for COVID prior to entry, so while President Biden is trying to move immigration issues along quickly, he is also mindful of the safety of the American people. President Biden also put a stop to the border wall construction and created a task force to reunite children with the parents from whom they were separated at the border.
He still has a long way to go to fulfill all his promises, but President Biden is a man of his word. The holdup on confirmation of President Biden’s cabinet nominees has prevented him from moving forward on some issues, but with Merrick Garland confirmed as Attorney General, Marcia Fudge as HUD Secretary, and Michael Regan as the first Black head of the EPA, things are slowly coming together. While there are many reasons that having Biden in office is refreshing, being a man of integrity is exactly what we needed after the last four years of lies, misinformation, and disinformation. We will be so much better off for this change—even those who did not vote for that change.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years