Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden. Photo / AP
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden. Photo / AP
Joe Biden has made a long litany of promises for his first 100 days if he is elected, but his overriding priority would be the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, he would try to roll the clock back as much as possible to January 2017, when he and Barack Obama leftoffice.
That would involve using executive orders, as much as possible, to overturn orders introduced by Donald Trump, including those that loosened environmental regulations.
He would also prioritise international relations with a flurry of calls to world leaders, reassuring allies about the US role on the global stage.
Another immediate priority would be to act to save Obamacare by withdrawing from a federal legal case, brought under the Trump administration, that aims to end it.
His team is currently considering what to focus on in terms of bills to send to Congress. That will have to be determined once the make-up of Congress is known after the election.
If Republicans hold on to the Senate, then much of what Biden wants to do will be an uphill struggle. If Democrats take it, the legislative floodgates will open.
Pandemic priorities
On the pandemic, Biden has indicated he will make quick appointments of the Cabinet secretaries who will be key to the response.
That includes his health secretary, treasury secretary, and the director of the National Economic Council.
He would prioritise seeking advice from Dr Anthony Fauci, America's leading infectious diseases expert, and make him a pivotal figure in the response.
Fauci has had an at times fractious relationship with Trump, but is trusted by a very high proportion of Americans.
Biden has said he would also quickly appoint a "supply commander" who would be responsible for producing and distributing tests, masks, and vaccines.
There would also be a "pandemic board" deciding what resources were required.
Rebuilding bridges
Biden has also said that "you don't have to have a crowd" for the presidential inauguration, and he could be sworn in with guests standing 6ft apart outside the US Capitol.
On his first day in the Oval Office he intends to "restore our leadership on the world stage" by taking actions including rejoining the World Health Organisation.
A problem ballots box as volunteers process absentee ballots for the 2020 Presidential election at the TCF Centre in Detroit, Michigan. Photo / AP
He said recently: "Day 1, if I win, I'm going to be on the phone with our Nato allies saying we're back. We're back and you can count on us again."
He has also vowed to strike out Trump's Muslim ban on day one, and work with Congress to pass a law on hate crime.
In regard to dozens of Trump's executive orders affecting the climate, Biden said he would "do away with all [Trump's] executive orders. I mean, not figuratively. Literally, all of them."
It was unclear whether that includes orders relating to commercial fishing and oil pipelines.
He would immediately sign an executive order rejoining the Paris climate accord, which the US originally joined when he was vice president.
Biden has said: "The first thing I'd do as president is call a meeting of all the nations who sign on to the accord, in Washington, DC, to up the ante. Because we've learned so much just in the last years about the science, about what has to happen quicker."
Guns and taxes
Biden has also said he would take immediate action to reverse tax cuts, for individuals and companies, that Trump secured in 2017.
He has also pledged, in his first 100 days, to establish a new police oversight body to address institutional racism.
A bill would be drawn up to end gun background check loopholes.
And there would be a bill aimed at creating a pathway to citizenship for America's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Biden would also move to eliminate tax cuts passed under Trump in 2017, affecting individuals as well as large corporations.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks one day after Americans voted in the presidential election. Photo / AP
He has also promised, in the first 100 days, a "roadmap to end homelessness," and to once again allow transgender students to play sports and use bathrooms according to their gender identity.
Biden will also have to fill more than 4000 politically appointed jobs in his administration, 1200 of which will have to be confirmed by the Senate.
