Pictured Above: 46th U.S President Joseph Biden Jr. (left) being sworn in. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
By Katie Goss ’23
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were officially sworn in as the 46th president and vice president of the United States, respectively. With the COVID-19 pandemic now having claimed over 400,000 American lives and still surging across the country, the inauguration itself looked different. Everyone in attendance wore face masks, and the people in front of the Capitol sat physically distanced from each other. Supreme Court justices, members of Congress and other government officials, as well as past presidents, were seen in attendance. The number of tickets for each person to hand out, as well as receive, was limited to keep the size of the crowd down. The National Mall, where people can usually stand to watch the event, was instead decorated with American flags.
“There were many things that marked [the inauguration] as different — the few people there, the masks, the social distancing. But it was really nice to see President Biden and Vice President Harris walking up the Capitol steps into the rotunda and participating in all these traditions, and it was a really good reminder of [the] government returning a bit to normalcy. Also, it really pointed out the historic nature of this time,” Maggie Micklo ’21, the president of the Mount Holyoke College Democrats, said.
An increased amount of security was placed at and around the Capitol due to the threat of violent protests from Trump supporters who believed the election was “stolen.” Members of the National Guard were stationed at locations around the Capitol to prevent this from happening. After the violent riots and insurrection at the Capitol in early January from Trump supporters who believed he had won the election, this was a serious threat that loomed over the inauguration.
“We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” Biden said in his inaugural speech.
“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war,” Biden said. “And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.”
Harris also made history, as she became the first woman, Black and South Asian vice president.
“The vice presidency being occupied by Kamala Harris is a huge historic milestone for many reasons. Her gender, her race, her ethnic background, and also, we have to say, for her age,” Assistant Professor of Politics Adam Hilton said. “She is a much younger face of the [Democratic] Party.”
Former President Donald Trump did not attend the inauguration, which went against the tradition of previous presidents. However, former Vice President Mike Pence and his family were present at the event.
“I think neglecting to go to the inauguration helped fuel the fire that he doesn’t recognize his loss [and] he’s not allocating a peaceful transition of power,” Emma Bowler ’22, communications director for the Mount Holyoke College Democrats, said.
Bianca Hammer ’23, the treasurer for the Mount Holyoke College Democrats, also highlighted Pence’s attendance. “Mike Pence being there kind of shows that, even if we don’t like his politics, at least he showed up in a professional way,” Hammer said. “But I think he is also setting himself up for a potential run in the next election. I think that he wants to show that he can [take on] that presidential role.”
Biden signed 17 executive actions on his first day in office, some of which included rejoining the Paris climate accord, stopping the U.S. from exiting the World Health Organization, requiring face masks on federal property and repealing Trump’s travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries. On Monday, Biden reversed Trump’s ban that prevented transgender people from serving in the military.
“I think he definitely wants to show that he has an agenda that he is very stern about pushing forward,” Hammer said. “There are a lot of things he had to just reverse from what Trump [had done].”
On Thursday, Jan. 21, Biden signed another order stating that masks must be worn when traveling on trains, planes or buses anywhere in the country. In addition, he added more restrictions for people flying into the country. Effective on Tuesday, in order to board a plane coming to the U.S. from another country, you must present a negative COVID-19 test taken at most three days before the flight or proof that you have recovered in the last three months if you have already had the virus. Failure to show a negative test result or documented recovery will result in a rejection to board the flight.
Micklo said, “It’s definitely a step in the right direction. Given what Biden has the authority to do as president, he really did … try to stretch that power as far as he can, and I think that’s the right call.”
In line with Biden’s plan to tackle the pandemic, on Tuesday, he announced that the U.S. would buy 200 million additional vaccines in order to vaccinate everyone in the country by the start of this fall. Purchasing 100 million vaccines each from both Pfizer and Moderna will put the planned amount of vaccines in the country from 400 million to 600 million. These additional vaccines should be available by the summer. Biden has stated that he aims to get 100 million Americans vaccinated in his first 100 days.
There have been a number of firsts for Biden’s Cabinet picks as the confirmation process continues. Avril Haines and Janet Yellen are the first women to fill the director of national intelligence and treasury secretary positions, respectively. Lloyd Austin, now leading the Department of Defense, is the first Black person to do so.
A few others set to take their place on the president’s Cabinet include Pete Buttigieg, who will be the first open member of the LGBTQ+ community to be secretary of transportation, and Deb Haaland, who will be the first Native American to be secretary of the interior. Additionally, Xavier Becerra and Alejandro Mayorkas will be the first Latinx people to lead the departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, respectively.
“I think there’s two things that we see from the list. One is diversity, and that’s a signal of what the Democratic Party stands for, … but especially in his very close circle, and generally across his whole Cabinet, … he paired diversity with competence,” Hilton said.
Micklo also commented on this. “I'm cautiously optimistic about his Cabinet picks,” she said. “I like that there is so much representation from differing identities, but I do wish there was some more ideological diversity in his Cabinet. It seems that the people he has chosen are very much mainstream Democrats [with whom] he has long-term relationships.”
Biden’s first week in office has also been followed by statements welcoming him from several world leaders. President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen said there is now a “friend in the White House,” according to an ABC News article. “Europe is ready for a new start with our oldest and most trusted partner.”
However, because of Trump’s treatment toward other countries in the last four years, as well as the events that have taken place since the election, the United States will have to rebuild some of these relationships.
“Due to the economic and military growth of China, [the] coronavirus and the tumultuous relationship between Trump and the traditional allies, the U.S. is in a weaker position internationally than before the Trump administration,” Bryan Nakayama, a visiting lecturer in International Relations at Mount Holyoke, said. “The Biden administration is more likely to pursue multilateralism, but real questions over whether the U.S. can be depended [on] to be an alliance or multilateral partner will continue.”
In Biden’s first week, he has tried to start bringing back faith and trust into the government, according to Hilton. The White House has been holding regular press conferences during which Biden is expected to appear soon to hold briefings and answer questions from the press himself.
“I think there is a collective sigh of relief going on in Washington that things have returned to something recognizably normal,” Hilton said.
Hammer, however, emphasized that the country’s major problems have not disappeared just because Biden is now president.
“I think it’s clear that he has some good goals he really wants to tackle, and he is getting right in there,” she said. “But with that said, I think it’s important that we keep in mind that he is not the solution to all of our problems, and there are a lot of symptoms there that existed before Trump came in office.”
“We have to keep him accountable [and] press for the things we want to see changed,” Hammer added.