With the recent confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory and the concession speech made by Donald Trump, a big question on everyone’s mind is what policies the Biden/Harris administration might initially focus on.
The Democratic Party is in an interesting position right now. The more progressive social democratic wing of the party, like Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, are trying to push the party left, while the more corporate, establishment Democrats, like Nancy Pelosi, are trying to maintain the party’s centrist status quo. With Biden’s brand relying on the message of unification (and with only the casting vote of Kamala Harris providing Senate control), expect to see only small concessions made by the Biden/Harris administration towards the left of the Party. These might include things like a more progressive energy and climate change policy or small scale healthcare reforms.
One topic both sides of the Democratic Party can agree on, however, with last summer’s BLM protests still fresh in the memory, is the need for improved racial justice and so I would expect this issue to be at the forefront of the Biden/Harris administration’s early focus. Likewise, coronavirus response. The Biden/Harris administration has made the fight against this pandemic, which continues to ravage the country, central to their platform in the first 100 days in office. On his website, Biden has promised to create widespread public testing, an improved roll-out of vaccinations, and the elimination of cost barriers.
Of course, the current elephant in the room is the outgoing President. On January 13th, the House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump for a second time. Proceedings in the United States Senate may well overshadow everything else the Biden/Harris administration looks to achieve in the early days of their administration. Interesting days lie ahead.
