Biden-Harris, Day 1: What mattered most
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President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden arrive at the North Portico of the White House. Photo: Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images
The Axios experts help you sort significance from symbolism. Here are the six Day 1 actions by President Biden that matter most.
Driving the news: Today, on his first full day, Biden translates his promise of a stronger federal response to the pandemic into action — starting with 10 executive orders and other directives, Caitlin Owens writes.
- Biden's executive actions direct federal agencies to boost supply chains — including by using the Defense Production Act. Go deeper.
Biden's executive orders on climate change, including rejoining the Paris Agreement and reinstating a raft of environmental regulations, are forcing Washington's biggest business lobbying groups to the table in a new way, Amy Harder and Ben Geman tell me.
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute say they support Biden's plan to regulate methane emissions from oil and gas wells. Go deeper.
Biden instructed the EPA and the Transportation Department to re-establish stricter fuel efficiency mandates, which President Trump had weakened. Joann Muller says this is part of a broader agenda that calls for widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
Biden's move to freeze student loan repayments through September — and the suggestion he'll swiftly place consumer champion Rohit Chopra in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — puts lenders on notice that their actions will be scrutinized.
Big cities rejoice at Biden's actions on immigration, Jennifer A. Kingson tells me: Revoking Trump's executive order that excluded undocumented immigrants from the census and congressional apportionment has huge implications for the nation's big urban centers, which fear that a bungled and incomplete census could lead to a massive loss of federal representation.
Tech companies applauded the president's action on DACA, as well as his rescission of an executive order that limited diversity training at companies that do business with the federal government, Ina Fried reports from S.F.
