Introduction
Hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021, President Biden signed 17 executive actions covering a wide range of issues, including several focused on discrimination and racial justice, immigration, and environmental justice. Broadly speaking, and as summarized more fully below, the Biden Administration’s executive orders, memorandums and proclamations have revoked a range of Trump Administration orders and policies and underscore the new Administration’s intention to prioritize a comprehensive set of policies intended to enhance diversity and equity. One executive order, for example, directs all agency heads to affirmatively advance racial equity, while another embraces an expanded interpretation of Title VII that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
US President Joe Biden signed 42 executive orders in the first 10 days of his presidency that not only overturned some decisions made by the previous Donald Trump administration, but also took steps towards Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ own governance agenda.