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Biden Issues Executive Orders Nullifying Key Trump Policies on First Day in Office

Published

3 years ago

January 21, 2021

Eric

U.S. President Joe Biden used his first day in office to issue a raft of executive orders undoing some of former President Donald Trump’s marquee policies on climate change and immigration.

Among the 17 executive orders and presidential actions Biden signed on Wednesday were moves to rejoin the Paris climate accord, end a travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries, and halt Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organisation.

“There’s no time to waste,” Biden said before signing executive orders in the White House.

“These are just all starting points,” he added.

Biden made rejoining the climate agreement a key point of his presidential campaign, vowing to undo former Trump’s policy.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the U.S. president’s move.

“Following last year’s Climate Ambition Summit, countries producing half of global carbon pollution had committed to carbon neutrality,” Guterres said.

“Today’s commitment by President Biden brings that figure to two-thirds,” the UN chief added.

Trump, who long railed against the global agreement signed by almost every country, notified the UN of his intent to exit the deal in 2019 and the U.S. formally left in November 2020.

The move also led to a sharp decrease in U.S. contributions to a fund to help poorer nations cope with climate change.

Biden also ended the entry ban on citizens from over a dozen countries, including Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, and Sudan.

The American Civil Liberties Union, a non-profit civil rights organisation, applauded the move calling the travel policy a “cruel Muslim ban that targeted Africans.”

Critics had called the policy – one of the first moves by Donald Trump when he became president in 2017 – a “Muslim ban.”

However, the ban was changed, in part due to legal challenges, and included some non majority-Muslim nations.

Biden has described the policy as discriminatory and an affront to the country’s values.

The president also submitted a letter to UN chief Guterres saying the U.S. intended to stay in the WHO, halting Trump’s withdrawal, which was scheduled for July of this year.

The U.S. will be a “full participant and a global leader” in confronting the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and other public health threats, Biden said in a letter to UN chief Guterres that rescinded U.S’s. withdrawal from WHO.

Biden issued an executive order halting construction of a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, dealing a blow to one of Trump’s signature policy goals meant to keep South American immigrants out of the US.

The president also signed an executive order mandating that people wear masks in all federal buildings and on federal lands in an effort to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

“Wearing masks isn’t a partisan issue — it’s a patriotic act that can save countless lives.

“It’s time to mask up, America,” Biden wrote on the official presidential Twitter account.

Trump had long downplayed the need to wear masks and avoided wearing masks in public even as COVID-19 pandemic killed over 400,000 people during his tenure as president.

As part of his executive order, Biden asked everyone in the U.S. to wear a mask when in public for at least the next 100 days.

Biden’s transition team said earlier that the executive orders were meant to reverse “the gravest damages of the Trump administration.”

The Democrat made the policies cornerstones of his presidential election campaign, seeking to reverse tougher immigration rules, a lax attitude on public health and an aversion to international cooperation on climate change seen under his predecessor.

The president has also sent a bill to Congress to overhaul the country’s immigration system, his team said earlier.

The legislation aims to provide pathways to U.S. citizenship for undocumented people, address the root causes of migration and speed up the reunification of families after children were separated from parents at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Biden has already made it clear he aims to push for another 1.9 trillion dollars in relief and stimulus to help the economy through the coming months of the pandemic.

This will involve working with Congress, where he is likely to meet some resistance to more spending, after the U.S. government has already pumped trillions into the economy since March.

However, job loss data is worrisome and businesses are suffering.

(dpa/NAN)

Featured

Tinubu Approves Credit Scheme Takeoff to Facilitate Purchase of Cars, Houses

Published

1 hour ago

April 25, 2024

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has approved the takeoff of the first phase of the Consumer Credit Scheme to facilitate the purchase of houses and cars by working Nigerians.

In a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said the Consumer Credit Scheme will enhance the quality of life citizens by allowing them to “access goods and services upfront, paying responsibly over time”.

“It facilitates crucial purchases, such as homes, vehicles, education, and healthcare, essential for ongoing stability to pursue their aspirations,” the statement added.

“Through responsible repayment, individuals build credit histories, unlocking more opportunities for a better life. Additionally, the increased demand for goods and services stimulates local industry and job creation.

“The President believes every hardworking Nigerian should have access to social mobility, with consumer credit playing a pivotal role in achieving this vision.”

In line with the President’s directive to expand consumer credit access to Nigerians, the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) has launched a portal for Nigerians to express interest in receiving consumer credit.

“This initiative, in collaboration with financial institutions and cooperatives nationwide, aims to broaden consumer credit availability,” the statement noted, adding that working Nigerians interested in receiving consumer credit can visit CREDICORP’s website to express interest before the deadline date of May 15, 2024.

“The scheme will be rolled out in phases, starting with members of the civil service and cascading to members of the public.”

The CREDICORP’s objectives include: “(1) Strengthening Nigeria’s credit reporting systems, ensuring every economically active citizen has a dependable credit score. This score becomes personal equity they build, facilitating access to consumer credit.

“(2) Offering credit guarantees and wholesale lending to financial institutions dedicated to broadening consumer credit access today.

“(3) Promoting responsible consumer credit as a pathway to an improved quality of life, fostering a cultural shift towards growth and financial responsibility.”

Featured

Again, DStv, Gotv Jack Up Subscription Rates

Published

13 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Eric

Broadcasting company Multichoice has jacked up the prices of its offerings in Nigeria four months after its last increment.

The company reviewed prices in its packages across the board. The new prices will take effect from May 1, 2024.

With the latest price hike, the DStv Premium package increased from N29,500 to N37,000. Similarly, the DStv Compact+ went up from N19,800 to N25,000 while the Compact package increased from N12,500 to N15,700.

The Comfam package moved from N7,400 to N9,300. Yanga package moved up from 4,200 to N5,100 while Padi package increased from N2,950 to N3,600. HDPVR was increased from N4,000 to N5,000, the Access Fees package from N4,000 to N5,000, and XtraView moved from N4,000 to N5,000.

Meanwhile, the Gotv Supa+ package moved from N12,500 to N15,700, Supa package from N7,600 to N9,600, and Max package from N5,700 to N7,200.

While the Jolli package was jacked up from N3,950 to N4,850, the Jinja package moved from N2,700 to N3,300, and Smallie package from N1,300 to N1,575.

READ Niger Coup: ECOWAS leaders in Abuja for emergency meeting

It will be recalled that the company implemented an upward review of prices in December 2023, days after announcing a $72m loss in its financial statement for the third quarter of the year.

Checks on the company’s reviewed price list then showed a 20 per cent per cent hike in the company’s packages across the board.

Featured

I’ll Resign If Yaya Bello Eacapes Prosecution, EFCC Chair Vows

Published

1 day ago

April 23, 2024

Eric

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has sworn to follow the prosecution of the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to a logical conclusion.

In a chat with journalists at the EFCC Headquarters in the Jabi area of Abuja on Tuesday, the anti-graft crusader vowed to resign as EFCC chairman if Bello is not prosecuted.

He added that all those who obstructed the arrest of the former governor would be brought to justice.

The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

He said that no matter what anyone does or the amount of attack against the anti-graft agency, he and his men will not relent in helping to sanitise the country.

Olukoyede said the EFCC needs the support of Nigerians to succeed, emphasizing that if the agency fails, Nigeria fails. He stated that the efforts made currently have helped the value of the Naira and the foreign market.