Politics

President Biden Signs 17 Executive Orders on First Day

That's more on a first day than the last four presidents combined.

President Biden Signs 17 Executive Orders on First Day
Evan Vucci / AP
SMS

It's common for the incoming president to take action on his first day. 

But 17 executive orders, that's more on a first day than the last four presidents combined. 

The coronavirus pandemic was clearly a big focus of the first things Biden wanted to do in office, one of the first orders he signed was the 100-day mask mandate. 

President Biden cannot mandate masks nationwide but he does have control over federal properties and federal buildings and that's what the order does.

But the order also asks the CDC to work with states and local governments, so there's clearly a hope that other local entities and states across the country will also join Biden in making that 100-day mask mandate a reality to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. 

He's also creating a different executive order, a national response to the coronavirus pandemic. He is really trying to set up the federal government as the example for states and local governments on how they need to fight the pandemic and what we need to really be able to move on from coronavirus. 

And then he also is rejoining the W.H.O., which was a controversial thing for President Trump to withdraw from in this pandemic.