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Personal U.S. Senator from Delaware 47th Vice President of the United States 46th President of the United States Incumbent Tenure Vice presidential campaigns |
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The first 100 days of the Joe Biden presidency began on January 20, 2021, the day Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. The first 100 days of a presidential term took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term in office, and the period is considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a president. The 100th day of his presidency ended on April 30.
Over his first 100 days, Biden signed 42 executive orders, more than any of his predecessors since Harry S. Truman.[1] Many of these executive orders were reversals to Donald Trump's policies. On March 11, he signed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion bill to help relieve economic strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] With the elections of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia, the Democrats held a slim majority in both the House and the Senate.[3] This was crucial in ensuring the passage of the American Rescue Plan, as every Republican senator voted against it.[4]
Biden pledged to do the following in the first 100 days of his presidency:
While Biden pledged to do the above within his first 100 days in office, as of May 8, 2023 Biden has completed:
Main article: Inauguration of Joe Biden |
The first 100 days of the Presidency of Joe Biden began during the inauguration of Joe Biden with the conversion of Whitehouse.gov from the Trump Administration version to the Biden Administration version at 12:00 pm on January 20, 2021. This was the fourth presidential online portal transition and the second to involve social media accounts such as Twitter.[27]
Main article: Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election |
Following Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 United States presidential election, then-President Donald Trump, along with his campaign and political allies, pursued an effort to dispute the election. These efforts culminated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, in which thousands of President Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol while the electoral votes were being counted, despite President Trump's admonitions to be peaceful.[28] Of the hundreds of people who stormed the Capitol, the Department of Justice under the Biden Administration found none of them guilty of sedition.[29]
Trump and his allies encouraged election officials to throw out legitimate votes, especially in states where Biden won with a narrow lead.[30] In a phone call in early January, Trump pressed Georgia's Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, to "find" 11,780 votes, the number of votes by which he lost in the state.[31] President Trump refused to concede[32] until January 7, 2021, when he publicly acknowledged that he would not serve a second term.[33]
Main articles: Cabinet of Joe Biden, Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates, and List of federal judges appointed by Joe Biden |
On January 18, 2021, Biden announced his 23-member cabinet. These included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Janet L. Yellen, Defense Lloyd Austin, the Interior Deb Haaland, Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Commerce Gina Raimondo, Labor Martin J. Walsh, Health Xavier Becerra, Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Domestic Policy Susan Rice, Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, Intelligence Avril D. Haines, Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Housing Marcia L. Fudge, Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Climate Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, and Education Miguel A. Cardona.[34]
Main article: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 |
The American Rescue Plan is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package, which passed the 117th United States Congress on March 10, 2021, and signed into law by President Biden the next day. Building on the CARES Act, it created a number of measures to relieve the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following:
The Act passed on a near party-line vote, with 50 Senate Democrats voting for the bill and 49 Republicans voting against.[4] An amended version passed the House with 220 votes for it and 211 votes against, with one Democrat joining every Republican in voting against it.[39]
Main article: COVID-19 vaccination in the United States |
A major goal of President Biden was to distribute 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of his first 100 days. By the time Biden took office, Operation Warp Speed was already distributing a million doses a day on average. This goal was reached by the 59th day of his presidency, and he soon after doubled the goal to 200 million doses.[40] This goal was met on April 21, 2021, with a week to spare until his 100th day in office.[41]
Main article: Immigration policy of the Joe Biden administration |
Biden campaigned on the promise he would roll back President Trump's hard-line stance on illegal immigration. Shortly after taking office, he ended construction on the southern border wall.[43] Biden had pledged to raise the Trump-era immigration cap from 15,000 people a year to 125,000, but backtracked on this promise shortly after becoming president, citing humanitarian concerns.[44] His administration worked to protect hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, mainly from Venezuela and Myanmar, from deportation.[45] Lack of significant action has drawn criticism, especially since Biden has failed to deliver on many of his immigration-related promises.[46]
Main article: Foreign policy of the Joe Biden administration |
Main articles: United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and United States withdrawal from the World Health Organization |
On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation.[47] The withdrawal took place on November 4, 2020, one day after the 2020 election.[48] Following the election, President-Elect Biden pledged to rejoin the agreement, which he did on his first day in office. The United States formally rejoined the agreement on February 19, 2021.[49]
In July 2020, President Trump formally announced plans to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, accusing the WHO of being under China's control.[50] The withdrawal was to be effective as of July 6, 2021.[50] In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guteres on January 20, 2021, President Biden stated that the United States would resume funding the WHO.[51]
Main article: China–United States relations § Biden administration (2021–current) |
The Biden administration made competing with China a top priority.[52] The United States sanctioned Chinese officials over human rights abuses[53] and kept in place the tariffs which were introduced by the Trump administration.[54] Biden has emphasized the importance of rebuilding ties with allies to counter Chinese growth.[55]
When Biden took office, the US military budget was at an all-time high—the Trump administration had requested a budget of over $740 billion for FY 2020.[56] Biden promised to repair relationships with allies, and stated that the United States was "fully committed" to the NATO alliance.[57] During his address to the Munich Security Conference, he said that the United States would "earn back [its] position of trusted leadership."[58]
Main article: 2021 Joe Biden speech to a joint session of Congress |
The 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, gave his first public address before a joint session of the United States Congress on April 28, 2021, the eve of his 100th day in office.