The minute thatJoe Bidenassumed presidency of the United States , the clock set out ticking on his first 100 days in place .
Well before he was elected , Biden was promisingdecisive actionin his first 100 twenty-four hour period to combat the COVID-19 pandemic , rebuild the economy and call racial iniquity and inequality .
But why the enchantment with a chair ’s first 100 Clarence Day ? After all , we elect presidents for terms of 1,460 days . What ’s so important about these first three months and change ?
Blame FDR .
" We start using the term ' first 100 days ' after Franklin D. Roosevelt ’s first 100 days , " explain Jonathan Ladd , associate professor of public insurance policy and government at Georgetown University . " FDR ’s first 100 sidereal day were so productive that we ’ve talked about it ever since . "
No chairman since has even number close to FDR ’s productiveness — Kennedy passed26 banknote , Reagan just 9 , Obama only 11 — but that has n’t shaken the fixing on the first 100 days . It remains a bench mark of political efficiency and a convenient measure of a fresh president ’s power . Astudyshowed that before the 81st Congress ( 1949 - 1951 ) , the average routine of police fleet during a president ’s first 100 daylight was 46 , compared to 16 for later time period .
Biden’s 100-Day Record
In his first 100 days , Biden has spearheaded some bluff opening move , admit signing a$1.9 trillion pandemic recovery bundle . He has also doubled the end his government gear up for COVID inoculation , surpassing 200 million vaccinations by his first 100 days instead of the original goal of 100 million . He also has call for all U.S. scout troop to be pulled from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 , 2021 .
Biden has also signed an historical 60 executive order , memos and promulgation — the most by any presidentin his first 100 days — a third of which were lineal reversal of executive orders sign by his harbinger Donald Trump . Most of those reversals undid Trump - earned run average policies on immigration , the environment and equity . For instance , Biden revoked Trump ’s executive order that separated migrant family unit at the U.S.-Mexico border .
The ‘100-Day Honeymoon’
In anarticlefor FiveThirtyEight.com , political scientist Julia Azari take down that Chief Executive often enjoy a " honeymoon " with Congress during their first 100 days , relieve oneself it wanton to push the new White House ’s legislative agenda . And the effect is firm for presidents who face separate government .
One possible account for the 100 - sidereal day honeymoon is that , historically , most incoming presidents delight high favorable reception ratings with elector . In less dissentious times , senator and representatives from the play off political party would intersect the aisle as a nod to presidential popularity ( and more significantly , to assuage elector back home ) .
Even though President George W. Bush won the 2000 election by the slimmest of margins , Georgetown prof Ladd explains , he was democratic enough that conservative - leaning Democratshelped pass his tax cut packageearly in his incumbency . Trump had no such fortune , and Biden has n’t either .
" Popularity matters less now because there are a lot few conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans than there used to be , " says Ladd .
Plus , Trump and Biden were importantly less democratic than previous incoming chair . Trump ’s approval ratings at his inauguration were in thehigh XXX . At the 100 - 24-hour interval bull’s eye , it stand at41 percent . Biden ’s commendation ratinghovers at 52 percentapproaching his 100 - day mark , importantly lowerthan Barack Obama ( 65 percent ) or Ronald Reagan ( 68 percent ) at the same point in time in their first terms in place . Beside Trump , the only other chairperson with a lower approval military rank at 100 Day than Biden was Gerald Ford at 48 percent .
As a upshot , the bipartisanship " honeymoon " of the past times appear to be over . Not one Republican fellow member of Congress voted for Biden ’s pandemic relief bill , for example . As of this writing , it ’s unclear whether Biden has the vote to pass his ambitious $ 2 trillion infrastructure plan .
Changing of the Guard
Another reason why more lawmaking often gets evanesce in the first 100 days often has to do with a political changing of the guard . When the White House and Congress are ultimately controlled by the same party , previously defeated flier get a second opportunity at life .
President Bill Clinton contract the Family and Medical Leave Actwithin days of taking officein 1993 . He could act so fleetly because the same banker’s bill had antecedently been go across by Congress and disallow by President George H. W. Bush .
" Congress did n’t have work to do to write the bill and figure affair out , " say Ladd . " It was ready to go . "
