President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn into office Jan. 20, after winning the presidential election against former President Donald Trump. The Mirador has compiled a list of some of the significant changes made by Biden and Harris thus far.

“The Biden Administration has made many changes, but specifically, I know that the Biden Administration got rid of the keystone pipeline and rejoined the Paris climate accords, which I think is great. Being in AP Environmental Science and learning about the environment and such, I knew how much that was going to positively impact the environment,” junior Reece Harris said.

During Biden’s first few days as president, his administration modified regulations regarding the environment.

Some include rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, which the United States withdrew from June 1, 2017. The Paris Climate Agreement is a global truce dedicated to halting climate change. Biden is also removing the Keystone XL Permit. This pipeline carried crude oil from Canada to the U.S while running through indigenous land. In addition, Biden invoked a procedure to combat climate change by “creating jobs and restoring scientific integrity.”

Aside from the environment, the Biden Administration has made changes concerning racial and gender equity. 

According to NBCNews, this includes endorsing racial equality, removing the ban surrounding entry into the United States by mainly-Muslim countries, and withdrawing funds from the southern border wall. Biden also eliminated the prohibition against transgender military access and implemented a ban on gender and sexual identity discrimination.

“He also lifted the ban on transgender people serving in the military, which I don’t know all that much about, but I do think that gender, sexual orientation, etc., shouldn’t be a reason you can’t join the military,” junior Lindsey Lucas said.

Biden has enforced changes regarding the economy and COVID-19 response and regulations. 

Some changes include enforced mask-wearing on all federal properties and enlarged entry to coronavirus resources. The Biden Administration has also created a COVID-19 “health task force” and has “reinforced Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act” by signing an order that made agencies inspect policies that weakened security for people with pre-existing health issues, etc., according to NBCNews. Furthermore, Biden has assisted the arrival of stimulus payments in making the payment delivery ameliorated. 

“I am a bit concerned about the president’s excessive use of executive orders. He signed a total of 30 different executive orders and actions on his first three days, according to CNN. Executive orders are only supposed to be used in emergencies, but most of what has been signed by the president has only been to further his political agenda,” junior George Destino said.

Although some may see the recent changes as positive and beneficial, some doubt the legitimacy of Biden’s agreeance with these new orders. “On his first day in office, Biden ordered that people wear masks while on federal property. However, he was seen that evening at a concert at the Lincoln Memorial without a mask on. He did this using an executive order, and he doesn’t even believe in it,” Lucas said.