‘Democracy Has Prevailed’: Joe Biden Officially Sworn In

Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris were officially sworn in Wednesday as the 46th President and 49th Vice President of the United States respectively. The historic inauguration took place in a country slashed apart by a deadly pandemic, division, and polarization after the tumultuous Donald Trump presidency, which tested American democracy in unprecedented ways. But ultimately, one thing was clear, in the words of Joe Biden: “Democracy has prevailed.”

The inauguration ceremony was a marked difference from that of previous years. Instead of taking place in a Washington filled with joyous party and celebration of hundreds of thousands of people, this year’s ceremony only had about 1,000 guests, and took place in a city on high alert, with 25,000 National Guard troops defending the National Mall area and hundreds of feet of perimeter wire fencing.

President Biden has now officially become the first president born in the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) to serve and Vice President Harris is now officially the first-ever woman, woman of color, and Asian American to serve in the office of vice president. She was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and will now be the highest-ranking woman to serve in the government in the history of the U.S. Doug Emhoff, Harris’s husband, will officially become the first-ever Second Gentleman of the United States. This is a historical moment for women (especially those of color), who have been traditionally marginalized and left out of politics, will now finally have their own voice in the White House.

The peaceful transfer of power marked the end of a weekslong period of suspense as the defeated president clung on in a persistent bid to hold on to his office. After months of casting doubt on mail voting, weeks of denying the results of a free and fair election, pushing baseless claims of voter and election fraud, and culminating in a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the institutions of American democracy clung on, proving that democracy has once again, prevailed. Even a deadly attack on the building representing the heart of American democracy could not prevent the certification of electoral votes and the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another.

In his inauguration ceremony and speech, which outgoing President Donald Trump did not attend, Biden said that the American experiment had been attacked by extremism and even violence but ultimately, against all odds, prevailed and endured.

“Through a crucible for the ages, America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge. The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

He also called for unity and the end to an “uncivil war” that “pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus urban,” and that “unity is the path forward.”

Biden now steps into a office ruling over a country facing dozens of challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over 400,000 Americans to date since it began last March, an unprecedented economic recession with millions still left unemployed, a newfound awakening for racial equity, the unprecedented effects of climate change, and deep political division among the people.

Already, in just his first few hours in office, he has signed 17 executive orders to dismantle a number of the Trump administration’s divisive policies. Here are they, listed briefly:

• Rejoins America in the Paris Agreement, an international deal to limit the effects of climate change, within 30 days.
• Cancels the Keystone XL oil pipeline project authorized by the Trump administrations and orders the review and reversal of more than 100 Trump environmental actions.
• Extends the federal eviction and foreclosure moratorium through March 31.
• Extends the moratorium of student loan payments and interest through Sept. 30.
• Mandates the wearing of masks in federal buildings and on federal lands and by federal contractors, urges state governments to do the same, and calls on Americans to wear masks for the next 100 days.
• Stops the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization ordered by the Trump administration. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, will now lead the delegation to the WHO, beginning with a meeting this week.
• Creates a new position, reporting directly to Biden, of COVID-19 Response Coordinator, which manages efforts to produce and distribute personal protective equipment and vaccines.
• Rescinds Trump’s 1776 Commission, a educational project deemed racist by many experts and directs agencies to ensure racial equity.

• Prevents discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Strengthens the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects illegal immigrants brought to America as children from deportation.
• Removes U.S. entry restrictions on passport holders from seven majority Muslim countries, put in place by Trump.
• Undoes the expansion of immigration enforcement within the U.S. ordered by Trump.
• Extends deferrals of deportation and work authorization for certain Liberians in the U.S. through June 30, 2022.
• Halts construction of the Mexican border wall ordered by Trump by terminating the emergency declaration used to fund its construction.

• Requires non-citizens to be included in the U.S. Census and for congressional apportionment.
• Directs the director of the Office of Management and Budget to modernize regulatory review and undoes the Trump regulatory approval process.
• Requires executive branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge to stop them from acting in personal interest and to ensure the political independence of the Department of Justice.

The Biden administration will be signing more executive orders in the coming days and weeks. The next batch of orders, expected to be signed tomorrow, will be targeted at battling COVID-19 and trying to reel in the pandemic.

On Wednesday afternoon, Harris officially swore in three new Democratic senators: Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who won the Georgia Senate runoffs earlier this month, and her own replacement, Alex Padilla from California, appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. With that, the Democrats now control 50 seats in the Senate, and the tie breaking vote from Harris, who is officially the president of the Senate, flipping control of the Senate majority and thus granting the Democrats a governmental trifecta. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York will now become the Senate majority leader—the first New Yorker and Jewish senator to serve in that position. (Interestingly, Ossoff will become the most junior senior senator from a state—he is 99th on the seniority list, ahead of only Warnock from the same state, the junior senator. Ossoff is the senior senator because the length of his elected term is longer than that of Warnock’s.)

Biden will now be tasked with uniting a deeply divided country, reel in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fix all the damage the Trump administration has caused to America.

_{This post officially marks the end of Newshacker Blog‘s 2020 election coverage.}