Biden keeps Trump’s first policy in the United States alive

This Wednesday night President Joe Biden spoke to the nation not only as a triumph for his first 100 days of achievements: there was a statement that the Biden administration’s highest ambition was to revive the United States and its democracy from the tragic state of its predecessors. . Left inside.

There are real accomplishments like the evolving US bailout. But in key policy areas, even where Trump’s approach has deeply damaged the democratic image of the United States, the Biden administration is content to pursue the policies of its predecessors. In response to immigration and global Covid 19, it seemed impossible or unwilling to go beyond Donald Trump’s worldview, giving the Democratic White House a home for “America First.”

In mid-April, the Biden administration announced that it would maintain the Trump administration’s refugee enrollment limit of 15,000 – a break from its election promise, not to mention supporting one of the worst policies. Very harmful to Trump.

According to the New York Times, Secretary of State Anthony Blingen was in the Oval Office on March 3, “begging President Biden” to raise the refugee ceiling. Here is how the president responded:

Mr Biden, who was already under severe political pressure, did not regret the arrival of immigrant children on the border with Mexico. The president’s attitude during the meeting, according to one person described after the conversation, was based on: Why are you bothering me about this?

After a sharp backlash from Democrats and liberal pundits in Congress, the administration withdrew and announced plans to raise the cap to an undecided number by May 15.

The story of global vaccine distribution is similar.

For weeks after it became clear that there would be enough vaccines in the United States to meet domestic demand, the Biden administration refused to export its surplus to poorer countries. This includes shares of the Oxford / Astrogenega vaccine, which is not yet approved for use in the United States.

That policy changed in late April, after a direct phone call between Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the country’s dire plight. But domestic reports, this time from Politico, again suggest that the White House initially took over the agencies involved and directly blocked vaccine exports:

Senior White House and National Security Council officials have repeatedly rejected requests from health agencies, the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development. Pro-export officials cited weekly internal forecasts showing that there would be tens of thousands of doses left in the United States. Their opponents urged Pita to wait until the United States destroys more missile manufacturers and becomes more involved in its own vaccine campaign.

There are other parts where Biden played the first song in an America. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said her administration plans to maintain Trump’s tariffs on China indefinitely. He pursued Trump’s policy of using the Health Code 42 to expel asylum seekers from the country. He refused to share vaccine production technology with foreign companies and countries, and it took weeks to lift the ban on exporting the required vaccine raw materials.

Of course, there were significant deviations from Trump’s isolated impulses – especially when it comes to US membership in international organizations and treaties. But it is fair to say that the Biden administration is making more progress on America’s first path than many Democrats want.

Pitton’s surprisingly weak record in helping foreigners

The security of the administration in some of these matters, more or less, made Trump do them.

At one conference, White House press secretary Jen Zhaki blamed the refugees’ failures on the “refugee recruitment program we inherited”, which made it harder for refugees to get there. People in the country. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tai said it was not possible to “eliminate tariffs” without the economic downturn; Changes “must have time to communicate so players can make changes in the economy”.

These are questionable claims. The New York Times account states that Biden’s indifference, even independent of management skills, was a major obstacle to raising the refugee ceiling. Nevertheless, there is some truth to them. The Trump administration has created bureaucratic and political barriers that prevent Biden from changing his policies, including high-level foreign policy issues such as the Iran nuclear deal and the normalization of relations with Cuba.

In many areas where there were no barriers, Biden went in a very international direction. He joined the World Health Organization, lifted the “Muslim ban” and reaffirmed the Paris climate agreement.

But these are the fruits at hand, just a few simple changes to the most popular and widely criticized Trump policies. One of the biggest challenges facing the global community – the Covid 19 epidemic – is that the international efforts of the Biden administration have been frustratingly slow.

Vaccines are scarce in the south of the planet – current efforts to obtain them, such as the Kovacs Purchase Fund, are not enough to close the gap quickly. Biden management has been slow to address the issue, dragging its feet in exporting excess vaccines and removing the ban on exporting raw materials for vaccine production.

A health worker wearing safety gear collects a napkin sample in Siliguri, India. Diptendu Datta /. /.

Much of this action is in response to the current crisis in India, but there is also a need to put in place an effective plan designed to prevent the next major epidemic by accelerating the vaccination campaign in poorer countries. So far, according to public health experts, the United States is largely absent.

The $ 4 billion pledge he made to Kovacs was a good gesture, but did not come to fruition, and it is unclear how many more vaccines will come from U.S. stocks. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday that the president had not “decided to send additional doses” beyond the already promised AstraZeneca violations.

Yale University epidemiologist Greg Gonsalves said: “He has avoided any commitment to global immunization. “It’s incomprehensible and confusing.”

Similarly, when it comes to immigration, there is no rule that Biden Title 42 should be used to deport asylum seekers. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Myorgas said: “There is no intention to use the power of CDC Title 42 more than one day to force public health” – in fact, the administration is currently considering a humanitarian exemption from the policy.

However, as my colleague Nicole Naria reported, the public health justification for politics is weaker than the administration recommends. Govt screening of asylum seekers has revealed low positive rates; Creating a broad-screening regime that identifies Govt-positive individuals would be sufficient to control the risk and would certainly be more humane than repatriating immigrants to Mexico.

“It is always clear that Chapter 42 travel travel applies to a public health justification based on ideology and political politics. [policy]Michael Heisler, a professor of public health at the University of Michigan, told Narayan. “They are afraid to send the message that people should come.”

In trade, Biden voluntarily proposed key Trump protectionist policies, including tariffs on metal imports and an attempt to undermine the WTO appeal process. He added a handful, signed an executive order strengthening the “American buy” rules for the federal government, and offered ordinary citizens tax breaks to buy electric cars made in the United States.

“This is totally America first,” says Dan Tresner, a professor at Tufts University who studies international politics. “I do not think they are more secure than Trump,” he said. But they are not both.

America First, a La Biden

Of course, any presidency is expected to have some degree of national bias. Biden was elected by the citizens of the United States, not the world; Understandably, he puts their interests first.

But in the wake of Trump’s attack on the liberal international order that helped create the United States, Biden has a special kind of burden: re-engaging the United States in creating a world in which nations cooperate and care for those outside their borders. But so far the administration seems surprisingly comfortable with America First Style policies, a nationalism that undermines the “America is back” reform promised by Biden’s group.

It is not clear why the Biden administration is making these choices. (The administration did not respond to my request for comment.) But some clues can be found in Biden’s Wednesday night speech to Congress, where he sold out his new legislative economic priority – the U.S. economy. Project. Jobs – “All investments are guided by a policy in the American Jobs Plan: Buy American.”

Overall, the talk seemed to be directed directly at a particular type of voter: economically distressed blue-collar workers without a college degree, (in some accounts) In 2016, Trump sparked a surprise victory.

Donald J. At the Trump Giant Center on November 4, 2016 in Hershey, Pa. Mark McLaughlin leads the rally.

“I know some of you are coming home wondering if these jobs are for you. Many of you, many of the people I grew up with, are changing so fast in an economy that they feel forgotten – it’s scary,” he says. College degree is not required. Seventy-five percent do not need an associate degree. The American Work Plan is the blue collar plan for building America. “

It is not clear whether Biden’s political diagnosis is correct – the weight of political science evidence shows that economic conditions have had a limited impact on Trump’s rise. It is also not clear whether Biden’s nationalist policies will actually help these voters: the stockpiling of refugees and the Astrogenega vaccine will have little effect on their lives, while Trump’s tariffs have caused significant damage to the population. American economy.

What is undeniable is that this administration’s choices have real consequences for those outside US borders. Leaning closer in the United States may or may not be the first domestic policy, but it certainly affects some of the most vulnerable in the world.