Written by Elijah Smith
In a tradition synonymous with the United States itself, Joseph R. Biden ascended to the presidency nearly a month ago. However, that cold winter’s day was only the beginning of President Biden’s 4-year journey. Upon taking the oath of office, President Biden was tasked with handling a pandemic of unprecedented proportions, an economic crisis fighting for its chapter in the history book, and a vaccine rollout that was less than stellar. No matter what side of the aisle one belongs to, everyone can agree that the task President Biden faces is one of great difficulty.
In his first month in office, President Biden took sweeping executive actions to reverse policies formed by former President Trump. In an unprecedented display of presidential might, Biden signed dozens of executive orders in the very first week of his tenure. These actions ranged from mere statements of opinion to vast changes to United States policy. Among the most controversial was his decision to revoke the permit allowing for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. This pipeline was designed to connect existing oil pipes and to increase the amount of American oil in the system. The project was to create thousands of jobs and was estimated to add 3.4 billion dollars to the United States’ GDP.
Overall, President Biden’s inaugural month in office has been a rocky one. Despite his administration’s best efforts, division is as widespread as ever, the economy is still spiraling out of control, and the COVID-19 pandemic is still causing deaths all over the nation. As always, we all must keep President Biden and our nation in our prayers.
