The past year in politics has inarguably been a tumultuous time full of conflict between the two main parties, the democrats and the republicans. Former President Donald Trump, being perhaps the most controversial US President in modern history, was outspoken in his disapproval of the Biden administration and their plans if elected. Of course, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris came out victorious and were elected on January 20 in what was a historic transition of power all-around. Not only is Kamala Harris the first woman and person of color to serve as VP, but she has also expressed her hopes that the future of the country will follow suit to become more diverse, where women of all races can envision their possibilities. With all of the groundbreaking events that have unfolded thus far, there have still been criticisms of the Biden administration’s decision-making in just over a month in power. 

  News reporters and politicians alike claim that Biden’s top priorities will be revealed by the policies he most quickly implements, and whether they are improvements from his predecessor. Since Harris and Biden entered office, they have signed more than four dozen executive orders. At least twenty have been direct reversals of Trump’s efforts. Most prominently addressed amongst the orders has been the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Cited as Biden’s number one priority, his focus on resolving the deadly pandemic is a drastic change from former President Donald Trump who at times refused to wear a mask. Oppositely, Biden has enforced mask mandates on federal property and modes of travel, reimbursements for state supplies, travel restrictions, guidance on returning to normal, and accelerated vaccination processes. Additionally, Biden has focused much of his early attention on immigration, equity, the environment, and the economy. In fact, he rejoined two major international agreements that Trump, despite nationwide disapproval, left; these being the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization. 

  In a little over a month, President Joe Biden has broken records for the amount of executive orders he has signed. He now leads the list of most active presidents in the sheer volume of orders signed in such little time, and experts predict that he will not be stopping any time soon. Americans rallied behind the Biden administration’s promise to restore and heal the nation amid the deadly pandemic and environmental struggles, and so far, those in power have done just that. Senior Avery Sannipoli stated that she thinks Biden has done amazing so far: “Since the second he stepped into office, he’s taken care of everything he said he would and continues to do that in such a short amount of time.” However, Biden’s actions have not gone without scrutiny. Most recently, his immigration plan to offer a path to US citizenship for millions has been torn apart by those who recognize that the proposed bill would make the most drastic changes in immigration law in more than three decades. It goes without saying that politics are a minefield of disagreement, but the overwhelming opinion of Biden’s actions in his first month in office are positive, hence his 55 percent approval rating. What do you think?