President Joe Biden had a full first day. He’s shown here with First Lady Jill Biden.
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Among the first actions the Biden administration undertook was rejoining the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, as well as reversing the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization. President Joe Biden signed the executive orders at around 5:30 p.m. ET, after his inauguration Wednesday morning.
In a tweet on the POTUS account, Biden said Wednesday evening that the “got right to work taking action to control the pandemic, provide economic relief, tackle climate change [and] advance racial equity.”
The Biden-Harris transition team said in a post on the White House website that the administration will also be be issuing a 100-day coronavirus masking challenge on the first day in office.
“[Biden] will sign a combination of executive orders, memoranda, directives, and letters to take initial steps to address these crises,” the post said, noting that these actions and more will take place within hours of the inauguration. These three moves (as well as others) reverse policy stances set forth by former President Donald Trump.
Thanks to American voters, we are back in the #ParisAgreement. America is once again poised to lead the world on climate action, working with our allies to build a better future for us all. Time to get back to work!
— Al Gore (@algore) January 20, 2021
Other actions will include continuing the pause on student loan payments, stopping border wall construction and reversing Trump’s immigration ban.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in Wednesday.
CNET reporter Corinne Reichert contributed to this report.
