Thoughts on Biden’s first weeks in office

RayLynn Chraston, Staff Writer

It has now been two months since Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America. During this time, many individuals have jumped to developing strong opinions about President Biden’s time in office thus far. Personally, I can not say that I am particularly into politics, and it may be too soon to judge his performance in office because he has only been in office for two months so far. In addition, his first weeks in office have been during the pandemic which may be a lot to handle, no matter who you are, because everything is so new. However, doing some research, President Biden had signed as many as 28 Executive Orders by Feb. 2, 2021. Some of these executive orders include: Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity; Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act; and Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government to Provide a Unified and Effective Response to Combat COVID-19 and to Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security.

Some things that I have heard people talk about when discussing Biden’s presidency recently has been about the Syrian Airstrike, stimulus checks, COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and immigration. These topics have been so important because they are either timely issues or items that Biden discussed and vowed to tackle in his presidential platform. For instance, the topics on COVID-19 have stood out to me because they are topics that I know more about and are topics that affect my daily life right now. I think that it is good that all those who want to get the vaccine are starting to be able to have the opportunity to get it. An influential event to note has been Biden’s efforts to rejoin the World Health Organization after Trump withdrew in July 2020, as well reinstating the US in the Paris Climate Agreement.

In an effort to distribute vaccines globally, President Biden aims to collaborate with the rest of the world in controlling COVID-19 outbreaks, and has donated vaccines to our neighbors, Canada and Mexico. The Paris Climate Agreement has also sparked conversation as Biden hopes to avert global warming across the world. According to The NY Times, “President Biden Jr. brings with him the largest team of climate change experts ever assembled in the White House.” During President Trump’s term, he claimed that global warming was a “hoax”, and the US withdrew from the agreement. Conversation has begun to turn to the minimum wage, as Biden is yet to deliver on his campaign promises of a minimum wage of $15 per hour. Again, I feel as though it is too soon to fully judge everything that President Biden has done thus far in office.That being said, we will have to continue to keep up with his presidency to see if he is able to keep his word and uphold the promises that he has made.