Biden's First 100 Days: Promises Kept, Broken, or In Progress

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Promise: Kept

Biden won the presidency during the craziness of the COVID-19 pandemic based on his plan to combat the spread and help Americans emerge from the economic crisis. As stated above, Biden and his administration wasted no time in sharing the American Rescue Plan with the country, and quickly became the blueprint for coronavirus relief legislation.

Stimulus checks provided relief to those in need of support for their families, and the $1.9 trillion package included funding for schools to reopen, small businesses to stave off closing, and money for vaccinations, testing, and contact tracing.This ultimately became a law passed on March 11, thereby fulfilling Biden’s initial promise. 

In addition to that, Biden set the ambitious goal that 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses would be administered in his first 100 days in the White House. Growing from a million vaccinations a day, Big Pharma boosted that by helping places like CVS, Walmart, and other retail/service places attain better access to doses, and a third vaccine authorized by the Food and Drug Administration secured more doses and vaccination units.

By Day 59, the US reached 100 million shots, and on Wednesday, April 21, also known as Day 92, President Biden announced the US had accomplished 200 million shots with eight days left to spare. Other health promises that Biden kept include rejoining the World Health Organization and restoring the White House Directorate for Global Health Security, which means that we are inching closer to “returning to normal” for the summer.

Promise: In Progress

Arguably, this promise is what got Biden into the White House with young Americans, and gave hope to millions of former (and current) students who were excited at the prospect of not having to owe Sallie Mae. President Joe Biden and his administration would have scored a major win for the new year by canceling (or extremely lessening) student debt, plus solidifying his party as the ones who truly care about the future of young minds in America.

Instead, Biden has undercut his good favor by completely rejecting Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren’s proposal to cancel up to $50,000 of student loan debt per debtor. To be clear, Biden did offer to erase $10,000 worth of federal student loans, 0 percent interest on said loans, and claimed to make state schools tuition-free for Americans. While he didn’t make clear if this “write off” would be via executive order or legislative action, progressives are widely citing that if President Biden wants to thank them for getting him into office, he’ll find a way to cancel all of Americans’ student debt.

In the meantime, Biden called upon the Department of Education to extend the freeze on student loan payments until Sept. 30, a request the department immediately carried out.

Promise: Kept

Wildfires in California, hurricanes on both coasts, freezing temperatures in Texas, and high gas prices have made Americans leery about the future health of our planet. Thankfully, Biden’s pledge to re-establish America as a forward-thinking nation when it comes to the climate had big news when—on his first day—he issued an executive order to kill the Keystone XL pipeline. Biden also halted development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore waters, and rejoined the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord. In making good to his initial promises, focus has shifted to his other needed commitments—namely reducing emissions and making non-compliant companies pay the cleanup costs in refinery communities. 

After creating several senior positions and establishing a prominent Office of Domestic Climate Policy at the White House, President Biden brought world leaders to discuss climate change, blocked the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and stopped drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Other longer-term goals remain in motion, as Biden and his administration plan to conserve 30 percent of American lands and waters by 2030 and make improvements to curb hydrofluorocarbon greenhouse gases.

Promise: Kept/In progress

Biden delivered on construction of a new wall on the Southern border of the country after Trump failed to complete what he championed there. The unspent funds after pausing the work are slated to be redirected to other infrastructure plans. Also, the 46th president delivered on ending travel restrictions on people from a variety of Muslim-majority countries. And while all of this would mean a royal headache for Republicans and conservatives, Biden’s administration is still in progress with “withdrawing the lawsuits” the federal government used to try to seize land along the border.

Promise: Kept

With the COVID-19 relief package in full swing, Biden’s second part of a “two-step plan to build a bridge to a better, stronger, more secure America,” came in the form of his Build Back Better recovery plan. The sweeping infrastructure spending proposal aims to put Americans back to work and fix the crumbling roads, buildings, and historical landmarks across the US. The first step—American Jobs Plan, which he rolled out late last March—gives way to a second, an American Families Plan, which will come by the end of April.

Promise: Not Kept

Daunte Wright. Andrew Brown Jr. Adam Toledo. Lindani Myeni. Donovan Lynch. Ma’Khia Bryant.

There are at least six names who have lost their lives due to police violence under President Biden’s watch, which has not endeared him to the Black community that ushered him into the White House. With Minneapolis and other places across the country now hotbeds for civil uprising, Biden vowed to create a national police oversight commission within his first 100 days, meant to study paths for police reform.

The Biden White House frequently lent its backing in support of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives in early March. On April 12, White House Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice said the White House was officially scrapping any plans for a commission. But after the Derek Chauvin verdict and the almost immediate killing of Ma’Khia Bryant and Andrew Brown Jr., DOJ chief Merrick Garland announced the opening of a civil investigation into the Louisville and Minneapolis police departments.

Promise: Not Kept

Biden also urged voters, who were looking for more diversity and inclusion in America, to vote for him as he campaigned to pass the Equality Act into law in his first 100 days. Going so far as to call it his “top legislative priority,” the act would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Despite calling for the law’s swift passage, which the House of Representatives passed on Feb. 25, it is now languishing in the Senate, where some Republicans oppose it.

With that said, Biden hasn’t used much political capital to push the evenly divided Senate to take up the Equality Act, nor has he pushed for any serious changes to how police have been racking up more Black and brown bodies than the military in Iraq. For the LGBTQ community, specifically, Biden signed an executive order during his first week in office, but part of it is tied up in a legal challenge from a private Christian college. He also signed an executive action meant to protect the Asian American and Pacific Islander community from discriminatory attacks pegged to the COVID-19 pandemic. With nothing much in line to help the Black and brown community, this one is considered as not being kept given the temerity of the situation.

Promise: In progress

Biden’s promise to update the Voting Rights Act, plus pass the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act has been an all-out war in states across the country—namely Georgia. Despite passing in the House, Republicans have universally opposed it, leaving its fate in limbo in the US Senate. The argument about voting rights has led to false allegations and multiple GOP-led states placing restrictions, making it harder for people to hit the polls. Speaking of Georgia, its recently passed law has led to widespread protests, numerous corporate boycotts, the withdrawal of the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game out of Atlanta, and a scathing six-minute video by Stacey Abrams objecting to the law outright. 

President Joe Biden has his work cut out for him, but with the American public and its deadlines set, will he and his administration be able to create significant progress as the year continues?