On Thursday, Joe Biden will become President. This is what his first week will look like
Understanding Biden’s first week
Executive orders
The $1.9 trillion bill
Vaccination roll-out
1 - Executive orders
Biden said he will almost immediately sign executive orders reversing key decisions made by Trump. What are executive orders? The President has some special powers to make rules without Congress’s approval - these are called executive orders.
In his first 10 days, Biden says he will sign executive orders that:
Return the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement
Repeal the travel ban on mostly Muslim-majority countries
Mandate mask-wearing on federal property and during interstate travel
More limits on evictions and foreclosures due to COVID-19
2 - The $2.5 trillion bill
Biden will send a $2.47 trillion AUD economic relief bill to Congress soon after taking office. The plan is similar to - but much, much bigger than - Kevin Rudd’s famous Global Financial Crisis stimulus packages.
What’s in the bill?
A direct payment of $1,820AUD to all Americans
$540 billion AUD in funds to fight COVID-19
$572 billion in relief for small businesses
3 - Vaccination roll-out
Biden has promised to deliver 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations within his first 100 days of office. Describing Trump’s efforts so far as a “dismal failure” Biden said he would immediately set up mass vaccination centres - 100 in his first month - and launch a public education campaign to address vaccination doubts.