US President-elect Joe Biden is expected to roll back some of PresidentDonald Trump’s policies via executive orders on his first day in the WhiteHouse, according to his incoming chief of staff Ron Klain.
Some of the key moves Biden will take right on his inauguration day will becanceling the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline extension project, andrejoining the historical Paris climate change agreement, according toKlain’s memo sent to senior staff on Saturday.
Although former President Barack Obama rejected the project in November2015 due to environmental concerns, after reviewing it for seven years,Trump approved it in March 2017 — in less than two months after he tookthe office.
The project, which aims to carry crude oil from Canada to the refineries inthe US’ Gulf Coast, saw its environmental permit canceled in April by afederal judge in Montana.
Trump had also announced the US’ withdrawal from Paris climate deal in June2017, which became official in November last year. Biden vowed during hiscampaign in September to have the US rejoin the deal if he was elected.
Biden is also expected to end Trump’s restriction on immigration from someMuslim-majority countries on his first day in the White House.
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Immediately after taking office, Trump had signed an executive order inJanuary 2017 that banned foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslimcountries from visiting the US, which later included North Koreans andcertain Venezuelan government officials.
Biden’s other executive actions will include extension of the existingpause on student loan payments, preventing evictions and foreclosuresduring the pandemic, and making it mandatory to wear masks on federalproperty and during interstate travels.
“I know masks have become a partisan issue — but it’s a patriotic act.Experts say wearing a mask from now until April will save more than 50,000lives,” Biden wrote Sunday on Twitter.
