NEWS WRAP

Taking (executive) action

• New executive, new orders | President Biden used his first day in office to sign 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations on issues ranging from racial equity and immigration to climate change and bolstering an economic recovery. In a bid to swiftly address the ‘overlapping’ crises, the Biden administration made clear it wanted to quickly dismantle policies from the Trump administration that had caused “the greatest damage.” READ MORE HERE
   

• No more filibustering the filibuster | The new Democratic-controlled Senate tardily moved to organise this week after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell dropped his demand that Democrats promise to maintain the filibuster, a Senate procedure that essentially requires 60 votes to allow legislation in the 100-seat senate. McConnell relented after two moderate Democrats, Senator Manchin of West Virginia and Senator Sinema of Arizona, both promised that they would not vote for Democratic efforts to remove the filibuster. READ MORE HERE
   

• Impeachment sans conviction redux? | Only five Republican senators voted in support of the constitutionality of the impeachment of former President Trump, suggesting that it is unlikely that the former president will be convicted in his upcoming senate impeachment trial. With a two-thirds majority vote needed for conviction, the entire Democratic caucus and at least 17 Republicans would need to find the former president guilty of “incitement of insurrection.” READ MORE HERE
   

• New vaccine distribution plan | Nearly the entire US population would be vaccinated by the end of the northern hemisphere summer, according to a new plan announced by President Biden. The administration said 300 million Americans would receive the vaccine after the government purchased an extra 200 million doses of vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNtech. The president also increased his "100 million shots in 100 days" vaccine plan to 150 million vaccine shots in the same timeframe. READ MORE HERE
   

• Halting the halt on deportations | The Biden administration’s 100-day pause on deportations was temporarily halted by a federal judge in Texas for at least 14 days. The first legal challenge to the Biden administration’s immigration agenda was delivered by a judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas who was appointed by President Trump. The Biden administration’s attempted pause on deportations was issued only a few hours after the president’s inauguration. READ MORE HERE

VIDEO

Key players in the
Biden administration

Did you miss our inaugural webinar of 2021 on the Key players in the Biden administration? The event featured a panel of USSC experts, which included Dr Jennifer Hunt, Dr Gorana Grgic and Bruce Wolpe in conversation with CEO Professor Simon Jackman, as they discussed the key players and policy priorities for the United States as it ushers in a new administration. Watch the full discussion HERE.

Catch this and other recent webinars on the USSC YouTube channel!

ANALYSIS

Who is on President Biden’s climate team and what will their offices do? 

Jim Orchard
Energy Analyst

Throughout the campaign, transition, and the first working days at the White House, addressing climate change remained a top priority for Joe Biden. But the success of his ambitious climate plan will depend on implementation by a team across various governmental bodies. A starting point to understanding what to expect from a Biden White House is to look in more detail at the appointments he has made and how this will impact the work of the key federal bodies. 

The key figures on President Biden’s climate team 

President Biden’s new climate team are well-qualified and set several new and significant diversity landmarks. They also appear to have satisfied both the climate activist community as well as mainstream Democrats.   

Congressional representative Deb Haaland from New Mexico will become the first Native American to serve as Secretary of the Interior. Michael Regan, currently the head of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality, will be the first African American head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  

As many expected, Biden has looked to add former Obama alumni to his team. These include former Obama EPA head Gina McCarthy, who will fill a newly created role as White House National Climate Advisor as well as Ali Zaidi and Brenda Mallory, who both held climate and energy roles in the Obama administration. Zaidi will be McCarthy’s deputy and Mallory will Chair the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality.  

Rounding out the key appointments are former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who has been nominated as Secretary of Energy, and former Secretary of State John Kerry, whose appointment as US Presidential Special Envoy on Climate was announced in late November. An additional member of the team is former Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who will serve as Transportation Secretary. This could be an important climate role if the administration looks to reduce emissions from the transport sector.  

Initial reactions to these appointments have been relatively positive, which is helped by the fact that the nominees all have experience as elected government officials or in senior White House and state-based energy and climate positions. There will, of course, be Republican pushback to President Biden’s nominees but with a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, the confirmation of Granholm, Regan, Haaland and Mallory are unlikely to proceed with drama. Green New Deal (GND) progressives will likely only object if they perceive a lack of ambition from the new team. Such progressives will be especially keen to see a strong environmental justice emphasis. 

If President Biden is able to confirm this new team, then there will still be an enormous amount of work to be done. The Biden administration wants the United States to have a carbon-free electricity grid by 2035 and national emissions be net zero by 2050. Doing so will require significant collaboration and coordination across a range of government bodies. 

This is an excerpt from Dr Orchard's latest USSC publication.
Click below to read the full article.

VIRTUAL EVENT

US politics and policy: A review from Australia

The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia.

With the transition of power behind, a new administration and Congress ahead, there is much to discuss and interpret.

Co-hosted by CEO's Professor Simon Jackman and Professor Gordon Flake, each month the pair will be joined by experts and insiders from across the globe.

WHEN:
Friday, 5 February 2021, 1pm AEDT (Sydney)
Friday, 5 February 2021, 10am AWST (Perth)
Thursday, 4 February 2021, 9pm EST (Washington DC)

COST:
Free, but registration is essential

You can also subscribe to have event invitations and reminders sent straight to your inbox so you never have to miss an event!

BY THE NUMBERS

Women appointed to US Cabinet

Biden 48 % | Trump 18% | Obama 32%

President Biden's Cabinet is set to be the most gender diverse in history of the United States. If all nominees are confirmed by the Senate, women will make up 48 per cent of the appointments, holding 12 of the 25 positions. His selections reflect the President's campaign promise to have a cabinet that "looks like America."

The gender representation in President Biden's appointments is even starker when compared to those of his predecessors – Trump and Obama. Trump’s presidency consisted of a high turnover of cabinet appointments with his initial cabinet consisting of four women (18 per cent) and 18 men (82 per cent). Obama’s first-term Cabinet included seven women (32 per cent) and 15 men (68 per cent).

While Kamala Harris marked the first female to hold the office of Vice President, as well as the first black and South Asian person in the position, she is not the only woman making history in Biden's cabinet. Janet Yellen made history by becoming the first female to hold the position of Treasury Secretary, and Deb Haaland is set to become the first Native American to hold a cabinet position if she is confirmed by the Senate as the Secretary of the Interior.

Read more about President Biden's appointments on our dedicated page for the new administration: The first 100 days

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

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