Constitution > Legislation > Executive Orders
When it comes to policy, you don’t want to continually prioritize flash over substance. Often you’ll find that when the flash fades, very little remains. Unfortunately, this doesn’t hold true for the hearts and minds of the general public – that damage will take much more work to repair. Constitutional amendments are the hardest to achieve but the most enduring, whereas executive orders are the easiest put into place.
When you have an individual that wants to be the “Uncompromising Man of Action” their options are limited and not long-lasting. While some may have heavily utilized the executive order and strained the limits of what could be achieved by this tool, those orders are just as easily tossed aside by the preference of the next administration.
Sweet Seventeen (15-19?)
A lot of outlets are counting seventeen Executive Orders, but it depends on if you count memos, or if he instructed another agency to make the announcement. Regardless, we are talking about a lot of executive orders for the first day (and a busy second as well). These were all major items that could have been stretched out for weeks of positive press and impression of accomplishment while they did a lot of administrative (boring) clean up and restructuring.
Biden has been here before, and he knew people who had done ALL these jobs before. When a previous administration trashes the entire operational infrastructure and places themselves at the center of everything, it would take a lot of work to rebuild a system from scratch. But if you bring back people who already know how to do their job, you can spend the two months you were frozen out of White House Updates, and just have plans for hitting the ground running.
Finally, when your predecessor was a jackass who wouldn’t listen to his own advisors, you just have to ask Dr. Brix and Dr. Fauci what actually needs to be done and it turns out they have a lot of ideas. To give you an idea, this many orders in two-days is closer to the number of executive orders an average president does in 8 months.
The First Two Days’ To-Do’s
- Tell People to Wear Their Damn Mask
Over a year into a global pandemic that has killed 400,000 Americans – the fact that the federal government hasn’t required masks and social distancing on federal property is demonstrative of stubbornness that is truly mind-blowing. Also begins a nation-wide 100-day mask challenge (not a “mandate” as would that certainly spark legal challenges). - Re-Engage with the World & Send Dr. Fauci to WHO
- End the “We-Swear-It-Doesn’t-Have-Anything-To-Do-With-Muslims” Muslim Ban
- Remove Propagandist 1776 Commission and the Ban on Diversity Training
From the very people who claim that liberals are “erasing history” we have a committee whose sole purpose was to repaint American History in only the most favorable lights. You can’t learn from your mistakes if you cover them over in a near-religious patriotic veneer. - Press Pause on Federal Student Loan Payments
- Call for A National Day of Unity
This is gonna be an ongoing “thing.” - Defer the Deportation of About 4,000 Liberians
- Stop Overly Aggressive Deportation and Immigration Policies
- End the Southern Border “Emergency” and Diversion of Funds for THE WALL
Even when Republicans controlled everything, they weren’t able to agree on a bill to fund THE WALL. Not only did they still try and blame Democrats, but supporters also applauded his creativity for making up an “emergency” and swiping funds from the Pentagon. These same people later claimed that their Governors are abusing THEIR national emergency powers during a pandemic.- What happened to Mexico paying for THE WALL?
- And then $25 million was crowdfunded via GoFundMe from supporters?
- But the donations were stolen by presidential advisor and organizer Steve Banon?
- Then Banon alone was pardoned while his co-conspirators still remain in prison?
- Extend Eviction & Foreclosure Moratoriums
- Require an Ethics Commitment for Executive Branch Personnel
Normally these things are pure fluff – but it seems we need to start saying these things explicitly. The pledges cover both a ban on political interference with the Justice Department and a ban on officials using their office for their own personal gain. - Prevent Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation
Yeah, you can’t discriminate because you wish people different from you just didn’t exist. - Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords
- Restoring Science: Public Health, the Environment, &Climate Crisis
Protect the air. Protect the sea. Revoke permit for Keystone XL pipeline, and pause energy leasing in ANWR. Stop taking more and more of Tribal Land. Oh, and climate change is real. - Stop Illegally Trying to Rush and Manipulate the Census for Political Purposes
- Put a Bunch More Federal Regulations Back
Undoing 6 Executive Orders with 1, that efficiency! - Preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) (Dreamers)
- Regulatory Freeze Pending Review
Froze all of the previous administration’s ‘midnight’ regulations currently in process, blocking them from taking effect while the new administration reviews them. - 100 Million Shots in 100 Days Campaign
- Engage the Defense Production Act to Fill Supply Shortfalls
- Send States More FEMA Money for National Guard & PPE
- Expand Testing & Create COVID Testing Board
- Increase Access to COVID Testing, Treatments, and Care
- Improve COVID Data Collection & Analysis
- Provide Reopening Guidance for Schools
- Provide OSHA Guidance for Workers
- Tell People to Wear Their Damn Masks on Airplanes & Public Transport
- Establish a “COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force”
Whew… I got tired of editorializing about halfway through.
