On Tuesday, November 3rd, millions of Americans sat in front of their TVs to tune into the 2020 Presidential election. Several days later on Saturday, November 7th,  Joe Biden was announced the projected winner of the election. As a formality under the 12th amendment of the U.S Constitution, the electoral college met to solidify his victory totaling 306 votes to 232, finalizing his win.

Just over two months later, standing on the steps of the United States Capitol, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States. Although a small audience present and COVID-19 guidelines creating a different scene than one typically painted, the world witnessed a new face of the nation. 

“I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class, and to make America respected around the world again,” said President Biden when referring to his goal as president.

 As January 2021 rings in a new year, it also marks the start of President Biden’s time in the oval office. He has laid out clear plans to tackle the current COVID-19 pandemic, strengthen the nation’s economy, support communities of color, and improve education across the country. 

For starters, President Biden aims to distribute 100 million coronavirus vaccines to about 50 million Americans and institute a mask mandate all in his first 100 days in office. Additionally, Biden aims to achieve mortgage and rent relief for those financially struggling, provide adequate safety equipment for frontline workers, and increase COVID-19 testing sites and test development.

The nation’s economy is struggling as a result of the pandemic, but Biden is hopeful to “rebuild it better.” Roughly 10 million Americans are currently unemployed but he is aiming to create 5 million jobs with the “Buy American” plan that would purchase around $400 billion worth of American goods. He also plans to create another 10 million jobs when tackling climate change. A few other ideas include raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and invest $50 million towards proper training in the workforce.  

Throughout his time on the campaign trail, President Biden has made it clear that he will advocate for all Americans. Coinciding with the current social justice movement, communities of color have historically struggled in almost every aspect of achieving the American dream. In order to help, Biden plans to lessen the racial wealth and income gap by proposing a new stimulus package that will provide funding to all minority owned businesses. With that funding, he hopes to incorporate organized systems to help those businesses keep their legal requirements up to date (proper paperwork, licensing, financial records, etc.) that may be lacking. Also, Biden plans to propose a $640 billion grant to increase affordable housing in low-income communities and homeownership within the black community.

Undoubtedly, receiving a quality education is one of the most important parts of being a successful citizen which makes improving education another top priority for President Joe Biden. His wife, Jill Biden, has been a teacher for many years and plans to work with him and his administration to make community college free for every student whose household income is lower than $125,000. That way, millions of students will be able to complete a college degree who couldn’t have due to financial hardship. This may be a large order to ask of Congress, the House, and the Senate, but one that the Biden Administration has made clear as an important need for the good of the people.

“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify,” said President Joe Biden in his victory speech following his confirmation.  

Overall, President Biden has quite a lot of plans for the future of our country as we turn a new chapter in our nation’s legacy.