In his first hour as president, President Joe Biden will sign a series of executive actions that reverse his predecessor’s orders. According to various reports he will end construction on Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall, revoke the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization, and more.
The pipeline currently stretches more than 2,600 miles, carrying crude from Alberta, Canada, through Manitoba, Canada, down into Texas. The Keystone XL portion has been protested by numerous indigenous groups. The Supreme Court delivered a substantial blow to the project in 2020 when it cleared the way for several pipeline projects to be receive fast-tracked permits, but excluded the Keystone XL pipeline, according to CNN.
Biden will also order an immediate pause in construction on the U.S.-Mexico barrier, and review how to redirect funds diverted from military construction budgets that Trump used to build the wall. He will also put an end to Trump's travel ban.
Along similar lines, Biden is proposing an immigration bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for roughly 11 million people living illegally in the U.S. The travel ban and border wall were the fulfillments of Trump’s central 2016 campaign promises, to crack down on immigration.
The new president will also direct agencies to consider revising federal fuel economy and emissions standards for vehicles, appliances, and construction after the Trump administration looked reduce requirements, calling them excessively burdensome or expensive for business and consumers.
Sources: CNN, MassLive, Bloomberg
