Rebecca Sims

Earlier this month (March 10th to be specific) President Joe Biden reached his first 50 days in office. This marks the halfway point from the Biden administration’s first 100 days in office. It is common for presidents to create a plan and promise certain legislation and action to be taken by the executive branch within its first 100 days and the Biden administration is no different. For his first 100 days in office, Biden has promised 62 different items to be completed. Since we are a little over the halfway point, now is as good of a time as any to look at how Biden is doing in terms of fulfilling his promises. 

As of March 10th Biden had completed 19 out of 62 promises, with 35 different promises currently in the process of being completed, and 8 promises that have not even been started yet. While the administration has not completed half of the promises (as you expect to see at the halfway point), the fact that so many of the promises are being worked on is a positive sign for those hoping all goals will be fulfilled. On top of this, we have seen some of the bigger commitments being fulfilled, like the recent stimulus bill and coronavirus aid package.

Unfortunately, we have also seen some already been blocked such as the promise to freeze deportation for 100 days. As we draw closer to the 100-day mark, we should be prepared to see some of Biden’s more lofty and controversial promises blocked, or uncompleted.

While the Democratic party does hold the majority in both the House and Senate, we must factor in that the majority is very slight and that political parties tend to separate voting on more controversial topics (take the minimum wage raise as an example). As it stands now, the path forward for the Biden administration is likely to come up short on all of its promises, so the electorate should pay close attention to what vows are kept and which are not. It will set the tone for what the administration will prioritize over the next four years.

If you want a more extensive look at the promises Biden has made for his first 100 days in office, check out the AP article Biden’s first 50 days: Where he stands on key promises by Alexandria Jaffe.

Citations: Jaffe, A. (2021, March 10). Biden’s first 50 days: Where he stands on key promises. AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-first-50-days-key-promises-d40e38b8125d1ab2b98661c9ba919238.