In his inaugural address, President Biden made a strong plea for “unity,” especially political unity that would see the political parties reach agreements and end their unhappy disagreements. His speech was praised in the media and by Democrats and Republicans. But the unity angle was exaggerated.
A few hours earlier, the lead story in the New York Times delivered a message that was not of unity. It said Biden would propose later that day “far-reaching legislation … to give the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States a chance to become citizens in as little as eight years.”
The New York Times appeared to have been fully briefed by the Biden team. But Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, wasn’t impressed. He said, “There are many issues I think we can work cooperatively with President-elect Biden, but a blanket amnesty for people who are here unlawfully isn’t going to be one of them.”
Several hours after the president’s call for unity, he abruptly declared a halt in the construction of the wall along the border with Mexico that former President Donald Trump had ordered. A 450-mile stretch of the wall has already been built, improving border protection. And 350 miles had been approved for construction.
What happened to unity? On immigration, Biden didn’t appear to be terribly interested in pursuing it. The political itch to stop Trump’s wall was too powerful to resist.
Next to the coronavirus that has killed 400,000 people in the U.S., immigration is the most overdue issue in the country. But it will have to wait. Biden has boldly taken on the task of fighting the pandemic nationwide. And he’s on his own. Republicans are unlikely to interfere unless his plan to vaccinate 100 million people in 100 days falls behind schedule.
Immigration is a more conventional matter. It divides Democrats and Republicans bitterly. Democrats are committed to encouraging illegal immigrants to become citizens once that’s possible. Republicans were persuaded by Trump that nothing short of a wall will block unlawful border crossings. Neither side is willing to give up its position or soften it. And putting the two together in a single piece of legislation is completely out of the question.
Biden has moved on. He’s eagerly embraced the presidential authority to put his stamp on new executive orders and erase ones already on the books. That’s how he banned Trump’s wall. If it had been approved by Congress, Congress would have had to repeal it. As a mere presidential action by Trump, Biden had the power to kill.
In modern times, presidents have never done more than one of these actions on the first day. Biden did 17, ignoring the possibility that unity might be possible in any of them.
Biden’s most controversial decision was to revoke the license for the Keystone XL pipeline, which is currently under construction. This provoked Canada, whose oil would use the pipeline to reach refineries on the Gulf Coast. The Wall Street Journal complained it “sends a message to investors that playing by U.S. rules provides no immunity from arbitrary political whims.”
In his busy first day in the Oval Office, Biden got involved in two foreign policy matters. Trump had yanked the country out of the Paris climate accord, and Biden put us back in. Many of the members don’t follow through on environmental steps. The U.S. has. China doesn’t have to. It won’t have to until 2030, if then.
Thanks to Biden, the U.S. will return as a member of the World Health Organization. He seems to have overlooked the WHO’s role in helping China avoid the blame for the deadly release of the virus now plaguing the world.
Why did Biden go to all this trouble on his first day?
“I thought there’s no time to wait,” he said. He ignored former President Barack Obama’s decision to take no actions at all, though he was vice president at the time.
There’s a simple explanation for Biden’s rush to get to work and worry about unity later. He’s been in Washington for nearly a half-century. He’s twice run for president and lost. He was vice president for eight years. Now he’s president, and there’s no time to waste. Unity will have to wait.
Fred Barnes is a Washington Examiner senior columnist.
