On Monday, January 20th, 2025, the White House inaugurated Donald J. Trump, the 47th president of the United States. His entire family, current and former members of Congress, tech company owners, foreign leaders, and former U.S. presidents – including Joe Biden- were in attendance.
The inauguration ceremony started at 10:00 am Mountain Standard Time and while Trump was giving his speech, Biden preemptively pardoned all his brothers and sisters and their spouses. Biden most likely did this during the ceremony so Trump couldn’t address it in his inaugural speech. But that isn’t the only thing Biden rushed to put in order before the end of his term.
In the days leading up to Trump’s inauguration, Biden signed 13 executive orders which Include:
- Executive Order on Helping Left-Behind Communities Make a Comeback (January 19, 2025)
- Executive Order on the Partial Revocation of Executive Order 13961 (January 19, 2025)
- Executive Order on Providing for the Appointment of Alumni of AmeriCorps to the Competitive Service (January 16, 2025)
- Executive Order on Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation’s Cybersecurity (January 16, 2025)
- Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps with Respect to the Situation in Syria (January 15, 2025)
- Executive Order on Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure (January 14, 2025)
- Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps with Respect to the Situation in the Western Balkans (January 8, 2025)
- Executive Order on Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Homeland Security (January 3, 2025)
- Executive Order on Providing an Order of Succession Within the Office of Management and Budget (January 3, 2025)
- Executive Order Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice (January 3, 2025)
- Executive Order Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of the Treasury (January 3, 2025)
- Executive Order Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Agriculture (January 3, 2025)
- Executive Order Providing an Order of Succession Within the Office of the National Cyber Director (January 3, 2025)
Trump came into office and did exactly what he said he would, signing 46 executive orders reversing many of the actions Biden put in place during his presidency. Some of them include:
- Executive Order 13836: Developing Efficient, Effective, and Cost-Reducing Approaches to Federal Sector Collective Bargaining
- Executive Order 13837: Ensuring Transparency, Accountability, and Efficiency in Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Use
- Executive Order 13839: Promoting Accountability and Streamlining Removal Procedures Consistent with Merit System Principles
- Executive Order 13843: Excepting Administrative Law Judges from the Competitive Service
- Executive Order 13957: Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service
- Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
- Executive Order 13777: Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda
- Executive Order 13891: Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents
- Executive Order 13892: Promoting the Rule of Law Through Transparency and Fairness in Civil Administrative Enforcement and Adjudication
- Executive Order 13893: Increasing Government Accountability for Administrative Actions by Reinvigorating Administrative PAYGO
- Executive Order 13924: Regulatory Relief To Support Economic Recovery
- Executive Order 13979: Ensuring Democratic Accountability in Agency Rulemaking
- Executive Order 13980: Protecting Americans From Overcriminalization Through Regulatory Reform
The immediate action on the promises Trump made was put in place to, “…revoke nearly 80 destructive and radical executive actions of the previous administration,” and “I will implement an immediate regulation freeze, which will stop Biden bureaucrats from continuing to regulate.”
After Trump caught wind of the pardons, he said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that Biden was being foolish to pardon the rest of his family and not himself. Biden has not responded to the comment on his pardons and has paid no attention to the words. He even continued a tradition in the White House to leave a letter to the new president-elect.
The letter reads, “Dear President Trump, As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years. The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation. May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding. Joe Biden.”
Despite Trump reversing many of Biden’s executive orders and previously criticizing him, the transition of power between Biden and Trump has been relatively smooth.
