Biden’s Changes: What Biden has accomplished in office so far

Since being sworn into office on Jan. 20, President Biden has implemented a number of new actions, including his vow to appoint the most diverse cabinet in history, introducing a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan and beginning to reevaluate the national drug policy.

Biden has already surpassed the diversity of both Trump and Obama’s cabinets with a 45% female and 55% non-white formation. 

According to NPR, a large number of Biden’s cabinet members are breaking barriers to be the first minorities holding positions that have previously only been held by straight, white men. Among the new cabinet appointees includes Pete Buttigieg, the first gay secretary, and Michael Regan who, if confirmed, would be the first African American to direct the Environmental Protection Agency. 

With Democrats holding the majority of the Senate, they are beginning the process of introducing Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-relief package. While Republican votes are not crucial to pass this bill into legislation, Biden and his team are working to pass it bi-partisan with the help of local and state government support. 

The Republican party opposes this package because they believe that checks should only be sent to lower income individuals and not to everyone. Biden believes sending out checks will aide the economic crisis and offer a cushion to those who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Along with the pressing issues from COVID-19, Biden has made it a priority to lower the drug overdose death count. In the past year, the death count reached a record high of  81,000, according to the CDC. To get a handle on these numbers, Biden has appointed Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Becerra, California’s attorney general, will be the first Latino to hold this position. Although he has not yet been confirmed by the senate, he has experience handling past opioid issues and is therefore seen fit to handle the overdose crisis. 

Biden will continue to appoint individuals to his cabinet and move forward with his COVID-19 plans among his other first moves in office.