Joe Biden is set to become the nation’s 46th president today. He is slated to take the oath of office around noon, which is when Donald Trump’s term as president ends.
Set against a backdrop of a locked-down Washington, and a socially distanced ceremony, Biden, in his inaugural address, is expected to plead for national unity as political, economic and health care crises grip the nation. He will take over the presidency two weeks after a deadly pro-Trump riot at Capitol Hill and as deaths from Covid-19 continue to rise. Since the pandemic began early last year, the disease has killed more than 400,000 people in the United States.
Kamala Harris will make history as the country’s first Black, female and South Asian vice president.
The first members of Biden’s Cabinet are slated to be sworn in over the next few days, as well, including Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary. Biden’s Democratic Party, likewise, will assume a bare majority in the Senate after three new lawmakers – Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and Alex Padilla of California – also take their oaths of office.
Trump, meanwhile, faces his second impeachment trial in the Senate, even though he will be out of power. The Democratic-controlled House, with the help of 10 Republicans, charged Trump with inciting the insurrection at the Capitol. The trial could begin this week.
Trump, in his farewell address, glossed over the Capitol riot, which resulted in five deaths. He did not mention Biden by name in the speech.
Biden transition’s top economic advisor says quelling Covid crisis will be first priority
Penny Pritzker, leading economic advisor for President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, told CNBC that the new administration will first focus on controlling the Covid crisis.
“It’s extremely important that we really get this virus under control so that businesses have greater confidence in their planning and can pick up hiring again, especially for small and medium sized businesses, which have really been devastated by the virus,” said Pritzker, former Commerce Secretary under President Barack Obama.
Pritzker outlined key priorities of Biden’s economic agenda, including raising the federal minimum wage to $15, passing Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package titled the American Rescue Plan, and rolling out the Covid vaccine.
“It’s the private sector that creates jobs but it’s the government that can help set the conditions for that,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker did not answer CNBC’s question about the new administration’s plans to repeal Trump era tax cuts or raise taxes, saying Biden’s primary concern will be quelling the Covid crisis.
“Right now, 100% of the focus is on ‘Let’s get America healthy and let’s get America back to work,’” she said.
