Joe Biden to sign executive orders on Covid-19, economy and climate change

Joe Biden’s top aide says the incoming president would sign about a dozen executive orders to tackle ‘crises’ during his first days in office.

US President-elect Joe Biden arrives at The Queen theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, to introduce nominees for his science team. Picture: AFP

Joe Biden’s top aide said on Sunday AEDT the incoming president would sign about a dozen executive orders on his first day in office, as authorities fearing violence from Trump supporters staged a nationwide security operation ahead of the inauguration.

Authorities in Washington, where Thursday’s inauguration will take place, said they arrested a man with a loaded handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition at a security checkpoint, underscoring the tension in the US capital, which is resembling a war zone. However, the man’s family told media he was a security guard, rejecting the idea he was intent on causing harm.

Incoming Biden chief of staff Ron Klain said in a memo to new White House senior staff that the executive orders would address the pandemic, the ailing US economy, climate change and racial injustice in America.

“All of these crises demand urgent action,” he said in the memo. “In his first 10 days in office, president-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world.”

As he inherits the White House from Donald Trump, Mr Biden’s plate is overflowing with challenges. The US is fast approaching 400,000 dead from the COVID-19 crisis and logging well over a million new cases a week as the coronavirus spreads out of control. The economy is ailing, with 10 million fewer jobs available compared with the start of the pandemic.

Mr Biden last Friday unveiled plans to seek $US1.9 trillion to revive the economy through new stimulus payments and other aid, and plans a blitz to accelerate America’s stumbling COVID vaccine rollout effort.

On inauguration day, Mr Biden, as previously promised, will sign orders including ones for the US to rejoin the Paris climate accord and reverse Mr Trump’s ban on entry of people from certain Muslim majority countries.

“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,” Mr Klain said.

Washington was under a state of high alert after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6. The assault left five people dead.

Security officials have warned that armed pro-Trump extremists, possibly carrying explosives, posed a threat to Washington as well as state capitals this week.

Thousands of National Guard troops have been deployed in Washington and streets have been blocked off downtown with concrete barriers.

On Friday night (Saturday AEDT), police arrested a Virginia man at a security checkpoint where he tried to use an “unauthorised” credential to access the restricted area where Mr Biden will be inaugurated.

As officers checked his credentials, one noticed decals on the back of Wesley Beeler’s utility that said “Assault Life”, with an image of a rifle, and another with the message: “If they come for your guns, give ‘em your bullets first”, according to a document filed in Washington Superior Court.

Under questioning, Mr Beeler told officers he had a Glock handgun in the vehicle. A search uncovered a loaded handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition. He was arrested on charges including possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Mr Beeler’s father, Paul, told The New York Times his son had been working as a security guard on the Capitol grounds. Asked whether his son supported a peaceful transition of power, Paul Beeler told the paper: “That’s the reason he’s there.”

As well as the heavy security in Washington, law enforcement was out in force in state capitals around the country to ward off potential political violence. Planned mass protests did not materialise on Saturday, with security far outnumbering Trump supporters at several fortified statehouses. In St Paul, Minnesota, for example, hundreds of officers ringed the Capitol with the National Guard providing backup. There were about 50 protesters.

AFP