Biden to Rely on Executive Orders, Appointees to Push Progressive Agenda
News Analysis
While former Vice President Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 as the nation’s 46th president and the Democrats will control both chambers of Congress, that doesn’t assure smooth sailing for his policy agenda, according to experts on both sides of the partisan aisle.
Biden’s problem is the numbers: His party controls the Senate by one vote, that of Vice President Kamala Harris, but only when there’s a split among the upper chamber’s 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans.
That means if, for instance, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia goes against the grain of his partisan colleagues, Harris won’t be called on to break a tie on the issue at hand.
The Biden Administration Brings State Climate Leadership to the White House
January 19, 2021, 12:30 pm
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There are many reasons to be inspired by the nominees that President-elect Joe Biden has selected to lead his all-of-government mobilization against the climate crisis. The Cabinet is a diverse and incredibly accomplished group that looks like America. It is capable of fulfilling the mandate that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris won decisively in November: to confront the climate crisis with a clean energy recovery that will create millions of good union jobs and build a just, equitable, and prosperous economy.
One of the most exciting things about this slate of “climate Cabinet” nominees is the experience and success in state-level climate leadership it will bring to the federal government. After all, for the past half-decade and longer, states have been laying a roadmap for bold, nationwide climate action.
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s inauguration on January 20, 2021 as the forty-sixth President of the United States could usher in a sweeping period of environmental regulatory changes vastly eclipsing those of his immediate predecessor – and perhaps even those of President Barack Obama. Further, with key Senate victories in January by Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia, a Democrat-controlled Congress is better situated to help the President-elect achieve the environmental goals he’s promised would be a focus of his administration.
Regulated industries can expect the new administration to consider action on climate change, environmental justice, chemicals regulation, wetlands/waters of the United States, and endangered & threatened species. Although some of these actions may be complex, look for key Trump administration rules to be rolled back and replaced and new rules and legislation to be proposed. Below we provide a brief overview of key e
Why Biden should designate a nuclear waste negotiator
An Atlas railcar carrying test weights on a test track. The US Energy Department is developing special railcars to transport casks of spent nuclear fuel to storage sites. Credit: Energy Department
(Editor’s Note: This Opinion piece is being published as a companion article to the essays in the January issue of our magazine, on “Advice to the Next President.”)
When President-elect Joe Biden comes to office, there will be a window of opportunity for the United States to make real progress on the management and disposition of nuclear waste. Once envisioned as a permanent waste storage site but now abandoned by both parties, Yucca Mountain is no longer a political lightning rod. And if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants licenses to one or more proposed interim storage sites in 2021, as seems likely, opponents of those sites will probably call for federal action on the many unaddressed issues associated with interi
With President-elect Joe Biden about to assume office, he will soon roll out his “clean energy” plan, aimed at reducing America’s dependence on fossil fuels.
But such a move will cause ripples beyond America’s borders. It will likely impact key developing countries that have become increasingly reliant on fossil fuel imports from the booming U.S. oil and gas industry.
Biden’s Clean Energy Plan
In December 2020, Joe Biden appointed his climate team, which included a person who served under the Obama administration.
Among the list of climate nominees and appointees is Gina McCarthy, who spearheaded the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which mandated emission reduction in America’s power plants and set in motion the country’s alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement.