Incoming White House chief of staff gives overview of Biden's first 10 days
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain gave an overview of the first 10 days of the Biden-Harris administration in a memo to senior staff Saturday shared with reporters.
"President-elect Biden is assuming the presidency in a moment of profound crisis for our nation. We face four overlapping and compounding crises: the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis. All of these crises demand urgent action," Klain wrote. "In his first 10 days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world."
The schedule is not comprehensive, Klain noted, but includes:
Jan. 20: Biden plans to ask the Department of Education to extend the pause on student loan payments and interest for Americans with federal student loans, rejoin the Paris Agreement, reverse the "Muslim Ban" (one of Trump's earliest executive orders upon taking office) and issue a mask mandate for federal property and inter-state travel. He will also "take action to extend nationwide restrictions on evictions and foreclosures and provide more than 25 million Americans greater stability."
Jan. 21: Biden plans to sign several executive actions "to move aggressively to change the course of the COVID-19 crisis and safely re-open schools and businesses, including by taking action to mitigate spread through expanding testing, protecting workers, and establishing clear public health standards."
Jan. 22: The president-elect will direct his Cabinet agencies "to take immediate action to deliver economic relief to working families" impacted by the pandemic.
Jan. 25-Feb. 1: Among other executive actions, memoranda and Cabinet directives, Biden plans to sign additional executive actions to address the climate crisis, as well as take steps to "strengthen Buy American provisions," reform the criminal justice system, expand health care access and "start the difficult but critical work of reuniting families separated at the border."
"Full achievement of the Biden-Harris Administration’s policy objectives requires not just the executive actions the president-elect has promised to take, but also robust Congressional action," Klain wrote.
-ABC News' John Verhovek