As President-elect Joe Biden begins the official transition of power, his team is preparing for the critical first 100 days of his presidency.
As the country is entering its ninth month of the pandemic, tragic milestones in the number of deaths related to coronavirus are being marked in the process. Health experts also warn that the holiday season will add to the burden on hospitals and health care workers already face.
The president-elect and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have vowed to prioritize relief for the American people financially devastated by the virus. Biden’s late January inauguration will necessitate swift action by the administration to bring relief to the US.
To do this, the transition team has been preparing for a battle to get a stimulus relief bill passed in the first days of the Biden administration, according to a report by CNN.
Sources close to Biden cited in the report say the first 100 days will focus on two things: a broad stimulus relief package and a series of executive actions to prepare to set the stage for other priorities on his agenda.
According to transition team officials, the three most pressing issues Biden is set on tackling are the pandemic, economic recovery and racial injustice.
Biden’s ability to get the stimulus package out to Americans will largely hinge on the Senate runoff races in Georgia scheduled for January 5, 2021. Without a Senate flip, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will likely slow Biden’s intention to get economic relief to Americans.
According to sources, he’s planning to lay out the specifics of his plans sometime in December to give the American people a better idea of how he’ll navigate the realities of a potentially divided Senate, a predecessor who hasn’t made the transition easy, and the urgency of a global health crisis.
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