On 20th January, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America. Biden, a former Vice President and a thirty-six-year veteran of the Senate, was one of the oldest and most seasoned politicians to run for President. He ran a long and hard-fought Presidential campaign running on the promise of returning normalcy and decency to the White House after four chaotic and tumultuous years under his predecessor. In his inaugural speech to the nation, Biden echoed his promise of unifying and healing a country divided along partisan lines and reeling from an unprecedented insurrection in the United States Capitol. Biden garnered the most votes for any Presidential candidate in history and began his first term with a narrow majority in both houses of Congress.
First Week in Office
At the very outset, the Biden-Harris administration set out to deal with a raging pandemic in January of 2021 that had resulted in a total of 500,000 deaths in the United States. While the country’s economy was starting to show signs of recovery after prolonged shut-downs, the American people were still battling the novel-coronavirus. Biden immediately set out to reverse some policies of former President Donald Trump, signing no less than seventeen executive orders on his first day and another five in the rest of the week, more than any President in history. These executive orders aimed to address a host of matters such as federal mask mandates, immigration, rejoining the Paris Climate Accords [1] and the World Health Organisation, and cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline [2]. The newly sworn-in President hit the ground running and sprung to action on his very first day, starting to work on his agenda with surprising speed and gusto.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and the American Rescue Plan
On the campaign trail, Biden had pledged immediate and substantial measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. These measures took the shape of the America Rescue Plan [3], a historic and unprecedented economic stimulus package with a hefty price tag of $1.9 trillion. Some of the key elements of the package included extending unemployment benefits including $1,400 in direct payments, expanding child tax credit, emergency paid leave, major grants to small businesses to prevent shutdowns, hundreds of billions of dollars in educational funding to safely reopen schools, and a significant investment in the healthcare infrastructure including ramping up vaccine production and immunisation centres across the country.
This massive spending package was the first major legislation for the administration and it faced significant resistance from Republicans across the board. In the end, the bill passed the U.S. Senate by a 50-49 vote and a 219-212 vote in the House of Representatives along partisan lines. This bill was signed into law by the President on 12th March, 2021, only a month and a half since taking office, which in itself was a truly remarkable feat.
In the campaign, Biden took aim at the Trump White House for their utter unpreparedness in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and their blatant disregard for science and expert advice. After taking office, President Biden released his National Strategy for COVID-19 response and pandemic preparedness [4], aimed at amped-up testing, vaccination supply, and health equity. This plan was hailed by experts across the country for its firm basis in science, a shift from the approach taken by the previous administration. Biden set out to achieve a lofty goal for a hundred million shots in arms in his first hundred days and surprised the world when this goal was achieved well within the first hundred days. Biden had indeed proven himself to be “a guy who could get things done” in Washington and rode on a wave of steady approval ratings for his handling of the pandemic.
On The International Stage
Biden took office in 2021 as a foreign policy heavyweight, having been the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for six years in total and the Vice President for eight years. However, despite his foreign policy expertise, his tenure was off to a rocky start in Afghanistan.
On 1st May, 2021, the Taliban launched a major attack on the U.S.-trained Afghan military, which marked the beginning of a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. As the U.S. and NATO continued to pull out troops from Afghan soil, the Taliban captured a majority of Afghanistan at an alarming pace which left the world in utter shock. Finally, on 15th August, 2021, the Taliban seized the capital city of Kabul, causing the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country; thus, resulting in the fall of the elected government.
Images of people running alongside American military aircraft in Kabul airport, falling of airborne planes, and Embassy officials evacuated on choppers flooded the internet. Nobody could anticipate how quickly the Taliban toppled the Afghan government. Further, a suicide bombing carried out by an ISIS-K operative in Kabul airport on 26th August, 2021 led to several civilian casualties and the death of 13 U.S. troops which caused outrage.
After deploying thousands of additional troops to ensure the safe evacuation of embassy personnel, the last U.S. military planes took off from Kabul on 30th August, 2021. The Biden administration was criticised heavily for the chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
In June 2021, Biden went on his first international trip as President. He attended the G-7 Summit in London followed by a NATO summit, an EU summit, and ended the trip by holding one-on-one talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva. He also attended the UN Climate Change Conference [5] in Glasgow, marking the United States’s re-commitment to Climate action.
Throughout the trip, Biden reiterated one message, “America is back.” This message was supposed to announce to the world that America was back at the helm, leading the charge. Biden further announced the Build Back Better World [6] framework, an initiative to address the infrastructure needs of low-and middle-income democracies across the world, with other G-7 leaders. The trip was hailed as a success by political pundits as Biden re-established the United States internationally and mended crucial ties damaged by his predecessor.
Biden also convened multilateral talks with leaders of the QUAD [7] aimed at strengthening international security. In September, Biden announced the AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) [8] alliance to ensure long-term safety in the Indo-Pacific.
Also, in the same month, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia revealed a plan to build Nuclear Submarines [9], terminating a defence contract with France. The plan produced a swift reaction from French President Emmanuel Macron, who recalled French ambassadors to both the U.S. and Australia in an unprecedented move. After intense efforts to mend frayed ties, diplomatic relationships were finally restored. Later that year, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Paris to hold bilateral talks with the French Premier and repair the damaged ties with one of America’s long-standing allies.
While Biden did manage to undo the isolationist policies of his predecessor, his legacy is blemished by the disorderly withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Domestic Agenda: The Build Back Better Framework
Biden’s legislative agenda included a three-tiered framework- the American Rescue plan (ARP), the American Jobs Plan, and the American Families plan.
After passing the ARP, the administration set out to pass the other two bills. The American Jobs Plan was a 2.3 trillion-dollar project pitched as “a transformative overhaul of the economy” and intended to modernise American infrastructure. However, after Republican opposition to the cost of the bill, the administration introduced the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal with the help of moderate Republican senators. The bill was renamed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act [10] and passed both the House and the Senate after several rounds of negotiations. It stipulated $1.2 trillion in investments in roads, bridges, clean water, broadband access, and the electric grid among other infrastructure. It marked another phenomenal legislative victory for Biden.
The Build Back Better Act [11] aimed to provide universal preschooling, expand healthcare access, and create generous tax incentives for green energy. However, it was stonewalled by Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema after being passed in the House of representatives along partisan lines. Their votes were indispensable to pass the social spending bill through budgetary reconciliation [12] in the Senate. Thus, we can note that Biden’s domestic agenda is still a long way from fulfilment.
Economy
Biden took office during the worst economic recession in modern history caused by the pandemic. With an unprecedented unemployment rate, small businesses pulling their shutters, and nationwide lockdowns, he had his work cut out for him. As of 2022, the administration fares remarkably well in terms of economic recovery. The United States has witnessed record job creation, GDP growth of 5.7%, and a historic drop in unemployment. The unemployment rate lies at 3.9%, the lowest in decades. Child poverty has fallen to record lows after the passage of the ARP. The economy has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. While a lot of the economic growth is credited to the re-opening of the country, it is also due to bold economic action by the administration and investments into economic recovery.
However, the administration is still facing challenges in terms of the economy. Inflation reached a 40 year high of 7.1%. The U.S. also saw a rise in gas prices in 2021. Disruption in the global supply chains brought about due to the pandemic has resulted in a reduction in supply leading to the increase and this, in turn, has increased inflation. The U.S. debt ceiling was increased by $840 billion in December as a temporary measure to avoid a government shutdown in the United States. The administration says that fixing the supply chain will lead to a reduction in inflation. The Republicans are, however, laying into the administration, blaming the social spending packages passed along partisan lines. With the midterm elections drawing closer, Biden has to tread an uphill road to get inflation in check.
Immigration Crisis
Since his early days in office, Republicans have blamed Biden for the rapid influx of illegal immigrants along the U.S.–Mexico border. Biden halted the construction of the Trump Border Wall when he took office. This surge of illegal immigrants was due to several reasons, the pandemic being one of the major ones. Biden called upon his second in command, Vice President Kamala Harris, to tackle the root causes of immigration. Since taking up the role, Harris came under fire for her controversial comments on the border crisis, her lack of urgency to visit the Southern border, and the lack of a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. Harris’s first foreign trip as Vice President to Guatemala and Mexico was not as smooth as one would’ve hoped. She issued a stern warning to anyone planning to immigrate to the United States illegally. While Human Rights groups have condemned this messaging, conservatives criticised her for the lack of direction and constructive solutions coming out of the foreign visit.
Striving Towards Social Justice
As of 2022, the U.S. Senate has successfully confirmed 40 judges nominated by President Biden to federal courts, more than any President since Ronald Reagan. Biden’s nominees are also the most diverse in history with a majority being women and people of colour. The administration is also the most diverse in history with several women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people of colour holding high profile positions. The Biden cabinet has the highest number of women and people of colour in history. The administration has issued a memorandum on Federal Executions. Also, Biden reversed the Trump-era ban of transgender members serving in the military. 72% of American adults are also fully vaccinated. In conclusion, Biden has had a significant share of major and minor victories in his first year in office.
Conclusion
Biden, by touting his experience as a seasoned politician, gained the trust of the American people and highlighted the need for a return to normalcy. However, with the Omicron variant and vaccine hesitancy, the administration is facing flack for its failure to effectively deal with the pandemic. Biden’s highly popular “Build Back Better Act” is stalled by senators from his own party. His push to alter the filibuster [13] and pass significant voting rights legislation was also met with opposition from the members of the Democratic party. With inflation still out of control, deepening divides within the country, partisan squabbles, and an immigration crisis, Biden’s approval rating currently sits at his lowest since taking office. The upcoming midterm elections in November are going to be a litmus test for the administration.
One year in, Joe Biden has indeed accomplished more than his predecessors, but a lot remains undone. Biden continues his commitment to pass Build Back Better in the future before the midterm elections and take action on voting rights as several states continue to pass legislation essentially attacking the sacred electoral process.
The road ahead is filled with challenges. Biden, who has already announced his plans to run for re-election has a lot to achieve in his remaining term. Whether he will succeed, only time will tell.
Article by: Kshitij G. Saha, Vice President, PES MUN Society, RR Campus
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