Biden's Executive Orders

Silvanus

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Rather than endlessly re-tread the election or the last four years, I thought we needed a thread to discuss the early actions of the incoming administration. Of course, there hasn't been enough time for legislative proposals to make their way through Congress, so we'll have to be looking at the executive orders first.

There's a full list here, but I'll note down my thoughts on some of the bigger ones...


* Retraction of the intention to leave the WHO, and rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. This is no surprise, of course.

* Revokes approval for the Keystone pipeline, and places a temporary moratorium on drilling in the arctic refuge, pending legal review. The pipline decision is welcome, but why is the latter temporary? The entire purpose of wildlife refuges is to be federally protected. The order does, thankfully, also non-temporarily withdraw other areas from drilling (in the arctic sea & Bering sea).

* End direct fossil fuel subsidies. Ending these subsidies had been mentioned early on in the Biden campaign, but mention of this had been dropped when he published his platform online, leading to concern that he no longer intended to do so. Thankfully he has. But what's that word "direct" indicating? Is there such a thing as an indirect subsidy that could weasel through?

* Restores federal funding to "sanctuary" jurisdictions. I wasn't actually aware funding had been frozen.

* Directs the Attorney General not to renew contracts with any private prisons. Honestly... I did not expect this to happen, and am ecstatic it did. It would have been nice to see contracts with private prisons terminated early, but maybe that isn't legally possible to do that via executive order in the US...? Perhaps someone can enlighten me on that?

* End arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, pending legal review. Again, very welcome, but again... why is this pending review? This leaves the UK as Saudi Arabia's largest exporter of arms.

* Reverse Trump's ban on trans people serving in the military. Thank god; it was grotesque that the ban was implemented at all.

The executive orders signed so far, I must admit, were better than anticipated. Frustratingly, some of them-- such as the arctic drilling moratorium and arms sales-- are only in effect "pending legal review".
 
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ObsidianJones

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Rather than endlessly re-tread the election or the last four years, I thought we needed a thread to discuss the early actions of the incoming administration. Of course, there hasn't been enough time for legislative proposals to make their way through Congress, so we'll have to be looking at the executive orders first.

There's a full list here, but I'll note down my thoughts on some of the bigger ones...


* Retraction of the intention to leave the WHO, and rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. This is no surprise, of course.

* Revokes approval for the Keystone pipeline, and places a temporary moratorium on drilling in the arctic refuge, pending legal review. The pipline decision is welcome, but why is the latter temporary? The entire purpose of wildlife refuges is to be federally protected. The order does, thankfully, also non-temporarily withdraw other areas from drilling (in the arctic sea & Bering sea).

* End direct fossil fuel subsidies. Ending these subsidies had been mentioned early on in the Biden campaign, but mention of this had been dropped when he published his platform online, leading to concern that he no longer intended to do so. Thankfully he has. But what's that word "direct" indicating? Is there such a thing as an indirect subsidy that could weasel through?

* Restores federal funding to "sanctuary" jurisdictions. I wasn't actually aware funding had been frozen.

* Directs the Attorney General not to renew contracts with any private prisons. Honestly... I did not expect this to happen, and am ecstatic it did. It would have been nice to see contracts with private prisons terminated early, but maybe that isn't legally possible to do that via executive order in the US...? Perhaps someone can enlighten me on that?

* End arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, pending legal review. Again, very welcome, but again... why is this pending review? This leaves the UK as Saudi Arabia's largest exporter of arms.

* Reverse Trump's ban on trans people serving in the military. Thank god; it was grotesque that the ban was implemented at all.

The executive orders signed so far, I must admit, were better than anticipated. Frustratingly, some of them-- such as the arctic drilling moratorium and arms sales-- are only in effect "pending legal review".
To address the 'pending' part, I think there's political reasoning.

While typing this, I'm listening to a Parkland Survivor talking about how people get into his face and telling him that he's a Crisis Actor.


If Biden said "I'm ending this once and for all", here comes the Republican Pundits who will say "THIS ISN'T AMERICA ANY MORE! HE IS MAKING ALL THE DECISIONS FOR YOU!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO DUE PROCESS?!?!? WHAT HAPPENED TO RULE OF LAW?!?!?!"

Hell, I'm loathe to type this out because I feel some members of that fraction will take this to them and go "See, it's all an act".

But I think it's political theater. They are most likely actually dead. But this is a political climate where anything a Democrat does is a direct usurper of Amuricans Freedums! At least the optics of a process must be made to keep certain parties from storming th...

That actually used to be just a turn of phrase. I'm not going to delete that because that's how scary today's reality is. That in a nutshell is why "pending reviews" are most likely made.
 

Schadrach

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* Restores federal funding to "sanctuary" jurisdictions. I wasn't actually aware funding had been frozen.
That one repealed a previous Trump executive order that includes the following language:
(a) In furtherance of this policy, the Attorney General and the Secretary, in their discretion and to the extent consistent with law, shall ensure that jurisdictions that willfully refuse to comply with 8 U.S.C. 1373 (sanctuary jurisdictions) are not eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the Secretary. The Secretary has the authority to designate, in his discretion and to the extent consistent with law, a jurisdiction as a sanctuary jurisdiction. The Attorney General shall take appropriate enforcement action against any entity that violates 8 U.S.C. 1373, or which has in effect a statute, policy, or practice that prevents or hinders the enforcement of Federal law.
So, yeah - it cut any jurisdiction that refused to comply with federal immigration law off from a lot of federal grants.

This leaves the UK as Saudi Arabia's largest exporter of arms.
I think you mean importer?

* Reverse Trump's ban on trans people serving in the military. Thank god; it was grotesque that the ban was implemented at all.
Pretty sure you linked the wrong order here - I think you meant this one.

I do have an interesting question regarding trans folks in the military though. Military physical testing standards are sex normed - that is men are held to different (always higher) physical standards than women. Performance in physical testing can effect things like promotions. Are transgender troops held to the standard of their birth sex, what they identify as, or some other standard?
 
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Silvanus

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But I think it's political theater. They are most likely actually dead. But this is a political climate where anything a Democrat does is a direct usurper of Amuricans Freedums! At least the optics of a process must be made to keep certain parties from storming th...

That actually used to be just a turn of phrase. I'm not going to delete that because that's how scary today's reality is. That in a nutshell is why "pending reviews" are most likely made.
Are not the events of this month proof that the Republicans will scream bloody murder regardless of whether the Democrats play it safe or not?

I think you mean importer?
I don't believe so, no. The US and UK export to Saudi Arabia, which would make them Saudi Arabia's exporters.

Pretty sure you linked the wrong order here - I think you meant this one.
Right you are. Edited.
 

ObsidianJones

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Are not the events of this month proof that the Republicans will scream bloody murder regardless of whether the Democrats play it safe or not?
The Corporates are in the unenviable position that everything is wrong and it's their fault at all times.

You ever been in a relationship or seen a relationship where one part is responsible and considered possibly boring but trustworthy? And the other part does whatever he or she wants, gets loud, breaks stuff, and says "It's your fault that I did X!!".

That's what it's like to be a democrat in power now. It is not like they can just say "Screw it! We're just going to go down into the Muck with you! Here are all these lies that we got people to say so treat them like the God's Honest and spend all your time focusing solely on it!". They are still held to the stuffy but responsible standard.

Because it's not just Democrats and Republicans. It's the undecided in the nation. It's the independents. And frankly, it's the rest of the damned World. Political Theater is at a Premium now. The appearance is that the Wardens have taken control back from the inmates is now America's chief export to the rest of the world.
 

Agema

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Without going into the specifics, there may be a lot of legal niceties that cannot be casually overridden.

For instance, several of Trump's executive orders were scrapped in court because US law demands the executive provide suitable justifications for executive orders (to restrict arbitrary use of executive power). Thus I could hypothesise that a temporary order pending legal review is an easy way to block something quickly with sufficient justification that it will not be challenged and struck down: that then gives time to come up with a more robust, longer-standing measure.
 

Thaluikhain

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I'd not be surprised if some of those pending review things quietly continue as normal when nobody is looking.
 
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Trunkage

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The best thing I can say about this is that at least he learnt from Obama's early mistakes. Obama got super worried about what Fox was saying about him in case they called him an evil socialists destorying the country and didn't do much early. Turns out no matter how much he tried to appease Fox, he was automatically a destroyer of economies.

Biden already knows Fox won't like him and just is doing what he thinks is best for the country. Emphasis on 'he thinks'
 
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Agema

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I'd not be surprised if some of those pending review things quietly continue as normal when nobody is looking.
Quite possibly. there might be PR "show" orders, to set a tone and create an impression upon arrival, without being intended to have long-lasting consequences.

However, there's also a pragmatic issue where potentially in some cases permanently countermanding some of Trump's executive orders might be more trouble and cost than they are worth.
 

happyninja42

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To address the 'pending' part, I think there's political reasoning.

While typing this, I'm listening to a Parkland Survivor talking about how people get into his face and telling him that he's a Crisis Actor.


If Biden said "I'm ending this once and for all", here comes the Republican Pundits who will say "THIS ISN'T AMERICA ANY MORE! HE IS MAKING ALL THE DECISIONS FOR YOU!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO DUE PROCESS?!?!? WHAT HAPPENED TO RULE OF LAW?!?!?!"

Hell, I'm loathe to type this out because I feel some members of that fraction will take this to them and go "See, it's all an act".

But I think it's political theater. They are most likely actually dead. But this is a political climate where anything a Democrat does is a direct usurper of Amuricans Freedums! At least the optics of a process must be made to keep certain parties from storming th...

That actually used to be just a turn of phrase. I'm not going to delete that because that's how scary today's reality is. That in a nutshell is why "pending reviews" are most likely made.
The thing that bothers me the most about that clip, is the classic Karen face she's got. The shark's grin, wide eyed, predator ***** look. Reminds me of this

 

sXeth

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* Directs the Attorney General not to renew contracts with any private prisons. Honestly... I did not expect this to happen, and am ecstatic it did. It would have been nice to see contracts with private prisons terminated early, but maybe that isn't legally possible to do that via executive order in the US...? Perhaps someone can enlighten me on that?

Probably some stiff contractual penalties. Theres been several similar cases up here in Canada (most notably, "allowing" a delay on a pipeline causing the gov't to be forced to buy the thing)
 

happyninja42

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Probably some stiff contractual penalties. Theres been several similar cases up here in Canada (most notably, "allowing" a delay on a pipeline causing the gov't to be forced to buy the thing)
Yeah generally speaking, ending contracts early means LOTS of penalties and fees. So it was probably considered more prudent to just not renew, and let them expire normally.
 

stroopwafel

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The best thing I can say about this is that at least he learnt from Obama's early mistakes. Obama got super worried about what Fox was saying about him in case they called him an evil socialists destorying the country and didn't do much early. Turns out no matter how much he tried to appease Fox, he was automatically a destroyer of economies.

Biden already knows Fox won't like him and just is doing what he thinks is best for the country. Emphasis on 'he thinks'
I read Obama's memoirs and that wasn't my impression though I get how it could come across as such in popular media. Obama's 'weakness' is that he's probably intellectual to a fault. There were opportunities where he could score PR points but didn't for the greater good. Like the bail outs for example during the 2008 credit crisis. In his memoirs he elaborately details how he struggled with this even inviting leaders of those companies(of which most didn't even show up) to express his grievances. He was flabbergasted how they saw themselves as the victims lmao. This is just one example but the book has much more of them.

Biden doesn't have a fraction of Obama's intelligence but he is ofcourse much more versed in the dynamics of politics given his experience of half a century.
 

Agema

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I read Obama's memoirs and that wasn't my impression though I get how it could come across as such in popular media. Obama's 'weakness' is that he's probably intellectual to a fault.
Yes, it's a shame to be a reasonable and intelligent leader when your country's political scene respects neither of those things.
 

Gergar12

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Keystone pipeline; Lol get wrecked, Alberta.

End Fossil fuel subsidies; Tesla stocks go up so invest now.

Restores funding to sanctuary cities; good...

Anti private prisons; Cool now do states via congress...

Trans people in the military; I am surprisingly okay with this. Imagine ISIS getting bombed by an F-35 piloted by a trans person; funny.

End Arms sales to UAE, and Saudis... No
UAE deserves to be rewarded for stopping the Israelis from annexing the West Bank, and for normalizing ties with Israel, The Saudis can get bent.
 

Silvanus

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End Arms sales to UAE, and Saudis... No
UAE deserves to be rewarded for stopping the Israelis from annexing the West Bank, and for normalizing ties with Israel, The Saudis can get bent.
Since when should we be "rewarding" countries by giving them guns with which to wage unrelated wars of aggression?

Keystone pipeline; Lol get wrecked, Alberta.
Better than "get wrecked, Earth, air quality & life expectancy".
 

Gergar12

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Since when should we be "rewarding" countries by giving them guns with which to wage unrelated wars of aggression?



Better than "get wrecked, Earth, air quality & life expectancy".
I would rather the UAE not buy Su-57s vs F-35s. Also yes the UAE sucks, but in international relations, you don't pick your friends, they pick you based on their geopolitical realities. While naive bureaucrats like the WTO, and WHO, and some in the EU are basing the fact that the US is more lenient than China on criticism, are thus trying to placate China more, the US needs allies more than ever, and the US also needs influence in order to force countries to be commuting less human right abuse, and if the UAE decides to do bad thing switch their F-35s the US could just stop sending spare parts to their F-35s like with Iran and their F-14s.

Besides, while I empathize with Yemen, the Houthis are an anti-democratic group that lobs anti-ship missiles at US destroyers and even civilian cargo ships like the fucking douchecanoes that they are.
 

Silvanus

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I would rather the UAE not buy Su-57s vs F-35s. Also yes the UAE sucks, but in international relations, you don't pick your friends, they pick you based on their geopolitical realities. While naive bureaucrats like the WTO, and WHO, and some in the EU are basing the fact that the US is more lenient than China on criticism, are thus trying to placate China more, the US needs allies more than ever, and the US also needs influence in order to force countries to be commuting less human right abuse, and if the UAE decides to do bad thing switch their F-35s the US could just stop sending spare parts to their F-35s like with Iran and their F-14s.
It takes a perverse kind of logic to conclude that the US should continue to provide the weapons used to commit human rights abuses... in order to maintain influence that might theoretically be used to prevent those same human rights abuses. How's that been going so far?

The US is not leveraging this alliance for any moral good; don't fool yourself. Its for regional strategic purposes and money. Neither of which justify killing innocent people.

Besides, while I empathize with Yemen, the Houthis are an anti-democratic group that lobs anti-ship missiles at US destroyers and even civilian cargo ships like the fucking douchecanoes that they are.
And the UAE/ Saudi Arabia are anti-democratic despots, lobbing their weaponry at unprotected civilians. Oh, you pick your friends, all right.
 

Revnak

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Besides, while I empathize with Yemen, the Houthis are an anti-democratic group that lobs anti-ship missiles at US destroyers and even civilian cargo ships like the fucking douchecanoes that they are.
The Saudis are literally a royal family that slaughter various minorities and brutally enforce their continued totalitarian rule. There is nothing more anti-Democratic than literal monarchy.