Review of President Biden
Lilia Shahal '22 OPED Editor
Americans dying at the hands of a deadly virus. Insurrection inflicted at the United States Capitol. Social injustice intensifying over the past year. As President Biden continues his time in office, he works to right these wrongs and restore the faith of the American people.
Immediately from January 20 of this year, President Biden explicitly conveyed that equity is a critical aspect of his presidency — something that was not present in the former President’s agenda. Specifically now, implementing equity is especially imperative as the coronavirus continues to target disadvantaged minority communities such as African Americans and Asian Americans. Particularly, sophomore Varsha Vijay acknowledges, “If you think minorities as in LGBT rights, I think Biden definitely got a jump on that ahead of time. I think that was one of the things he did really good really quickly.” This is justified in the President’s monumental Equality Act, which was recently passed by the House. It aims at ending discrmination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This piece of legislation is needed and long overdue, especially for individuals that have been persecuted for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Also, Biden’s strong belief in equity is reflected in one of his many executive orders which focuses on advancing racial equity in the federal government. He asserted that racial equity “has to be the business of the whole of the government.” Consequently, the President verifies his own words by diversifying his Cabinet, resulting in 55% of members to be non-white and 45% to be women. Mr. Kaplan, a government and politics teacher at Howard, echoes Biden’s follow-through in equity: “He’s putting his money where his mouth is; he’s appointing people that have a history of racial and political justice backgrounds.” Even with so little time in office, the American people have witnessed how the idea of equity will be a constant factor in the President’s actions.
In addition to the executive orders regarding equity, President Biden has signed more than 50 executive orders thus far — a paramount number compared to the last three presidents in their first year of office — 20 of which aimed at reversing the former President’s policies. With this in mind, the Biden Administration had proved that they came in with an organized strategy on what policies to eliminate. However, Americans argue that the executive orders are “plans to make plans” as Andy Rudalevige, a professor at Bowdoin College, puts it. Therefore, Americans believe that while these executive orders are the beginning phases of action, they do not guarantee progress. In fact, Howard students reciprocate this concern as sophomore Yvonne Nguyen states, “Since [executive orders] are temporary, I don’t think they’re as powerful as legislative action because legislative action is permanent… it feels like executive action is just for show.” While legislative action is more thorough than the president’s orders, executive orders are effective in determining how the federal government internally functions. Also, this type of power is extremely easy to implement, so Biden was prone to create all these orders — especially to reassure Americans that work is getting done even if it is not in the form of legislative action just yet. Mr Kaplan explains the power of executive orders by voicing, “[Executive orders] are very easy to implement, especially when you have allies within the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy is really who carries out key terms of policies. So yes, I think he’ll be very very successful.” With time and collaboration with allies, Biden’s executive orders can positively contribute to the enactment of legislation.
In terms of the coronavirus, critics perceived that Biden’s 100 million vaccine distribution goal in his first 100 days is not ambitious enough. However, this argument is losing steam since 50 million vaccines have already been distributed in only 37 days. Biden recently celebrated this landmark, indicating that he is successfully following through on his promise to distribute 100 million vaccines by the end of the 100 days. As a result, the rate of vaccine distribution has increased to 70% since Biden’s inauguration. These accumulating numbers signal that Biden’s coronavirus plan is undoubtedly contributing to the battle against the coronavirus implications. Mr. Kaplan affirms that, “[Biden] has to use this honeymoon period to get his agenda through.” In addition to the vaccine distribution, the President has relentlessly been advocating for his 1.9 trillion dollar coronavirus relief bill — a significant piece of legislation that aims to aid American families, the unemployed, small businesses, housing and more. As Mr. Kaplan stated, this time period is crucial for the President in order to enact this legislation; It would be Biden’s first piece of legislation once it travels through the House by end of February while most likely facing contention in the Senate.”
Overall, the Biden Administration has effectively transitioned into power during the past 30 days. The President’s prepared team of experienced policymakers and equity-driven followers have aided in implementing policies that reflect security, leadership, sustainability and advocacy. These qualities have also been at the forefront of the president’s coronavirus plan, which continues to advance with regards to vaccinations and decreases in hospitalizations. Biden was placed in a difficult position — one which deals with handling the pandemic as well as the uprise in systemic racism and rising political tensions. Therefore, the executive orders were one of the only things he could kick start successfully to ensure progress. The past month has been steady, but Biden may face an uphill battle as he fights to enact legislation. Despite this, Biden will deliver on his promises, letting his passion and motivation for America fuel his presidency.
Immediately from January 20 of this year, President Biden explicitly conveyed that equity is a critical aspect of his presidency — something that was not present in the former President’s agenda. Specifically now, implementing equity is especially imperative as the coronavirus continues to target disadvantaged minority communities such as African Americans and Asian Americans. Particularly, sophomore Varsha Vijay acknowledges, “If you think minorities as in LGBT rights, I think Biden definitely got a jump on that ahead of time. I think that was one of the things he did really good really quickly.” This is justified in the President’s monumental Equality Act, which was recently passed by the House. It aims at ending discrmination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This piece of legislation is needed and long overdue, especially for individuals that have been persecuted for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Also, Biden’s strong belief in equity is reflected in one of his many executive orders which focuses on advancing racial equity in the federal government. He asserted that racial equity “has to be the business of the whole of the government.” Consequently, the President verifies his own words by diversifying his Cabinet, resulting in 55% of members to be non-white and 45% to be women. Mr. Kaplan, a government and politics teacher at Howard, echoes Biden’s follow-through in equity: “He’s putting his money where his mouth is; he’s appointing people that have a history of racial and political justice backgrounds.” Even with so little time in office, the American people have witnessed how the idea of equity will be a constant factor in the President’s actions.
In addition to the executive orders regarding equity, President Biden has signed more than 50 executive orders thus far — a paramount number compared to the last three presidents in their first year of office — 20 of which aimed at reversing the former President’s policies. With this in mind, the Biden Administration had proved that they came in with an organized strategy on what policies to eliminate. However, Americans argue that the executive orders are “plans to make plans” as Andy Rudalevige, a professor at Bowdoin College, puts it. Therefore, Americans believe that while these executive orders are the beginning phases of action, they do not guarantee progress. In fact, Howard students reciprocate this concern as sophomore Yvonne Nguyen states, “Since [executive orders] are temporary, I don’t think they’re as powerful as legislative action because legislative action is permanent… it feels like executive action is just for show.” While legislative action is more thorough than the president’s orders, executive orders are effective in determining how the federal government internally functions. Also, this type of power is extremely easy to implement, so Biden was prone to create all these orders — especially to reassure Americans that work is getting done even if it is not in the form of legislative action just yet. Mr Kaplan explains the power of executive orders by voicing, “[Executive orders] are very easy to implement, especially when you have allies within the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy is really who carries out key terms of policies. So yes, I think he’ll be very very successful.” With time and collaboration with allies, Biden’s executive orders can positively contribute to the enactment of legislation.
In terms of the coronavirus, critics perceived that Biden’s 100 million vaccine distribution goal in his first 100 days is not ambitious enough. However, this argument is losing steam since 50 million vaccines have already been distributed in only 37 days. Biden recently celebrated this landmark, indicating that he is successfully following through on his promise to distribute 100 million vaccines by the end of the 100 days. As a result, the rate of vaccine distribution has increased to 70% since Biden’s inauguration. These accumulating numbers signal that Biden’s coronavirus plan is undoubtedly contributing to the battle against the coronavirus implications. Mr. Kaplan affirms that, “[Biden] has to use this honeymoon period to get his agenda through.” In addition to the vaccine distribution, the President has relentlessly been advocating for his 1.9 trillion dollar coronavirus relief bill — a significant piece of legislation that aims to aid American families, the unemployed, small businesses, housing and more. As Mr. Kaplan stated, this time period is crucial for the President in order to enact this legislation; It would be Biden’s first piece of legislation once it travels through the House by end of February while most likely facing contention in the Senate.”
Overall, the Biden Administration has effectively transitioned into power during the past 30 days. The President’s prepared team of experienced policymakers and equity-driven followers have aided in implementing policies that reflect security, leadership, sustainability and advocacy. These qualities have also been at the forefront of the president’s coronavirus plan, which continues to advance with regards to vaccinations and decreases in hospitalizations. Biden was placed in a difficult position — one which deals with handling the pandemic as well as the uprise in systemic racism and rising political tensions. Therefore, the executive orders were one of the only things he could kick start successfully to ensure progress. The past month has been steady, but Biden may face an uphill battle as he fights to enact legislation. Despite this, Biden will deliver on his promises, letting his passion and motivation for America fuel his presidency.