Joe Biden will sign series of executive orders on first day in office

Joe Biden will spend his first hours in office undoing Donald Trump’s signature policies, his incoming chief of staff has revealed.

Joe Biden will sign a series of sweeping executive actions undoing President Trump’s signature policies just hours after taking the oath of office on Wednesday, his incoming chief of staff announced.

Following his inauguration at a heavily fortified US Capitol, Mr Biden will sign executive orders to end Donald Trump’s travel ban, rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and mandate mask-wearing on federal property, Ron Klain told senior staff in a memo obtained by the Associated Press.

The 78-year-old will also extend an eviction moratorium and pause on student loan repayments amid the raging coronavirus pandemic and corresponding economic crisis.

But perhaps the most consequential action on Mr Biden’s agenda is an immigration bill providing a path to citizenship for America’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

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Joe Biden will sign a series of sweeping executive actions just hours after taking the oath of office this Wednesday, his incoming chief of staff has announced. Picture: Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP

According to the AP report, illegal immigrants would be put on an eight-year path, while people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or from war-ravaged countries would be put on a faster track.

In the days following his January 20 inauguration, Mr Biden is also expected to sign orders aimed at reopening schools and businesses, expanding COVID-19 testing, and reuniting illegal immigrant children separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border, Mr Klain said.

The Biden team also reportedly plans to rescind a cross-border permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day in office, undoing a project resurrected by Mr Trump.

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We can save 60,000-100,000 lives in the weeks and months ahead if we step up together.

Wear a mask. Stay socially distanced. Avoid large indoor gatherings.

Each of us has a duty to do what we can to protect ourselves, our families, and our fellow Americans.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 30, 2020

It’s long past time to raise the minimum wage, so hardworking people earn at least $15 an hour.

I hope that Democratic control of the House and Senate will ensure prompt action to get it done.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 12, 2021

Direct cash payments.
Extended unemployment.
Rent relief.
Food assistance.
Aid to small businesses.
Keeping essential frontline workers on the job.

Those are the key elements of my American Rescue Plan.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 15, 2021

“These executive orders will deliver relief to the millions of Americans that are struggling in the face of these crises,” Mr Klain said in the memo.

“President-elect Biden will take action – not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration – but also to start moving our country forward.”

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The memo comes after the incoming president unveiled a massive, $19 trillion ($A24.6 trillion) coronavirus bailout package increasing unemployment benefits and small business loans and offering a new round of stimulus payments.

The Biden administration will need to win support from sceptical Republican politicians – who are weary of the ballooning national debt – if it wants the bill to become law.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and is reproduced here with permission