President Biden’s First 50 Days: Progress on His Key Promises

Upon taking office, President Joe Biden had laid out an ambitious 100-day agenda, promising immediate action on matters ranging from climate change and the coronavirus pandemic to immigration reform. He completed 50 days in office on March 10, and here’s where he stands on his key promises:

Completed goals

Addressing the coronavirus pandemic was Biden’s priority during his first few weeks, and he took action to change things for the better. In the third week of March, he may hit the milestone of administration of 100 million vaccine doses within his first 100 days.

He also worked on addressing the climate change crisis by halting the development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, revoking the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and ordering the review of Trump-era rules regarding the environment, science, and public health.

With President Biden’s orders, the US rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization (WHO). Biden also halted the construction of the border wall, pledged to deliver an immigration reform within 100 days of taking office, and lifted travel restrictions on people from various Muslim-majority countries.

In progress

Many of Biden’s other promises are a work in progress. His national COVID-19 strategy included establishing 100 new vaccination centers across the country, supported by the federal government, by the end of February. Presently, there are approximately 20 mass vaccination sites run entirely by the federal government and staffed by active-duty troops sent by the Pentagon. As per the administration, 441 vaccination sites are now federally supported.

Reopening schools was one of Biden’s major campaign promises but has proven tougher to execute. This is partly because the decision to return to offline classes resides with teachers’ unions and local officials. In February, Biden said it was his 100-day mission to open most elementary schools five days a week for in-person learning.

The Biden administration is yet to take action on terminating private person contracts, criminal justice reform, and ordering an FBI review of issues with gun background checks.