BIDEN SHREDS TRUMP POLICIES VIA 17 EXECUTIVE ORDERS

President Joe Biden started his first day at the White House by scrapping Donald Trump’s policies by way of 17 executive orders that dismantle actions that led isolated the US on the global stage, alienated allies and stripped Washington of its role in the worldwide battle against climate change.

Biden is signing a flurry of executive orders, memorandums and directives to agencies, his first steps to address the coronavirus pandemic and undo some of Trump’s worst policies, Eric Bradner, Betsy Klein and Christopher Hickey reported for CNN.

"There's no time to start like today," Biden told reporters in the Oval Office as he began signing a stack of orders and memoranda. "I'm going to start by keeping the promises I made to the American people."

With the stroke of a pen, Biden has halted funding for the construction of Trump's border wall, reversed his travel ban targeting largely Muslim countries and embraced progressive policies on the environment and diversity that Trump spent four years blocking.

Biden also reversed several of Trump's attempts to withdraw from international agreements, beginning the process of rejoining the Paris climate accord and halting the United States' departure from the World Health Organization (WHO) -- where Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, will lead the US delegation.

His first action was to impose a mask mandate on federal property, a break in approach to dealing with the pandemic from Trump, who repeatedly downplayed the virus. Biden also installed a coronavirus response coordinator to oversee the White House's efforts to distribute vaccines and medical supplies.

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