President Biden intends a week full of executive action, according to a memo obtained by The Hill. Biden already has underwater approval rating after issuing executive orders that are unpopular with key constituent groups, yet his administration is already plowing ahead with more. Monday is not bad, but the rest of the week is a cornucopia of givebacks to the party’s left wing.
To start the week, Biden will strengthen requirements for federal agencies to buy American products. President Donald Trump signed a similar order dealing with medical products when the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated production of medical equipment and medicine was nearly non-existent in the United States. It is not clear if Biden will target specific industries related to national security or if the new order will have a solely financial goal.
Tuesday is “Equity Day” because, of course, it is. Law enforcement policy will revert to Obama-era policies that banned transfers of military equipment to local law enforcement. A policing commission will be established, ostensibly a nod to Black Lives Matter. The members appointed to this commission will be interesting. Further executive orders will direct the elimination of private prisons and tentative action on sentencing.
A memo will order the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote equality in housing. This memo is most likely related to the Obama-era Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing policy eliminated by the Trump administration. The Obama policy put zoning decisions in a federal agency’s hands rather than local governments, an astounding power grab. Biden committed to adding the strategy advanced by Senator Cory Booker, which would withhold highway funds from communities that do not comply.
Also expected is a reversal of the “ban” on transgender individuals in the military. The military is always the best place to conduct social experiments. Tuesday may also include additional measures on immigration.
Biden will address the weather on Wednesday with a series of orders around climate change, including one declaring it a national security priority. There was speculation he could declare climate change a national emergency, providing funding and resources that do not require congressional approval. It does not appear that is the direction at this time. Instead, he will sign a memo encouraging agencies to make science and evidence-based decisions, which is hysterical since he erased biological sex last week.
“Health Care Day” on Thursday includes expanding taxpayer funding for killing the unborn. Biden will rescind the Mexico City policy and order a review of President Trump’s defunding of abortion providers through the Title X family planning program. The memo characterizes another order as strengthening Medicaid. He will also initiate an open enrollment period for Obamacare.
Friday is “Immigration Day,” which we conservatives would rightly mock as “Importing New Voters Day.” Biden will sign orders around border processing and rescinding controls on asylum implemented by the last administration. For no reason, he will create a task force to reunify migrant families. DHS has repeatedly explained that not one of the 485 parents the agency contacted wants his or her children sent home. Biden will also sign an order to review the public charge rule that prevents immigrants who require public assistance from entering the country. The memo says there will be other actions to remove barriers and restore trust in the legal immigration system. You can be sure these orders will not restore Americans’ confidence in the immigration system.
President Trump ordered his administration to cut at least two regulations for every new regulation the administration issued. During the Obama administration, business owners cited their most significant challenge as burdensome regulation. Under Trump, it was a shortage of labor significant enough to increase wages. It appears the past is prologue, and with President Biden, we are back in “pen and phone” mode. How continued executive actions will impact the economic recovery remains to be seen.
