President Trump’s supporters were critical of what they saw as the media’s obsession with the virus, claiming it was sowing hysteria. But now, deep into the third wave, with 90,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths per day, it’s no longer a matter of opinion — but of dry facts. It’s hard to see Biden seriously applying himself to any other subject during the first three months of his presidency.
Biden was elected first and foremost because he claimed to have a plan to root out the virus. But having a plan is not a guarantee of success, and he’s expected to come up against a number of challenges and obstacles. Biden’s signature promise is a national mask mandate. Given how controversial mask wearing has become, it’s hard to see how he would put that into action, and it’s difficult to envision 50 governors and thousands of mayors seriously enforcing it. As president, he can make a warm recommendation, but the battle over masks will sadly accompany us well into 2021.
Another subject on the new administration’s agenda is the United States Supreme Court. Biden said that if elected, he’ll appoint a bipartisan commission of experts to study Supreme Court reform. Many of the president-elect’s supporters want him to counterbalance the 6-3 conservative majority — by packing the Court. But Biden promised to be a president for all Americans, and given pre-election polls showing wide majorities opposed to court-packing, he likely won’t hurry to institute far-reaching reforms to the system. He would like to begin his administration with a conciliatory gesture toward those who didn’t vote for him, and drastic Supreme Court reform would not only end all hope of that, it would also energize the Republican opposition.
When it comes to immigration, we can expect a 180-degree policy change from the Trump administration. Biden already announced in the last week of the campaign that he’ll form a commission to locate the parents of 545 immigrant children who were separated from their parents at the border — a policy, incidentally, that was initiated under the Obama administration. He also said that he’ll act to enshrine the position of children of dreamers — DACA — so that the 11 million children brought to the United States illegally by their parents will have a path to citizenship.
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