President Joe Biden waits to sign his first executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Joe Biden has signed a series of executive orders from the Oval Office hours after his inauguration.
Biden wore a mask while seated behind the Resolute Desk with a stack of orders early Wednesday evening. He said there was “no time to start like today.”
The first order Biden signed was related to the coronavirus pandemic. He also signed an order reentering the U.S. into the Paris climate accord.
While his predecessor Donald Trump broke long-standing practice by skipping Biden’s inauguration, he did follow through on one tradition and left behind a letter for Biden.
The new Democratic president said Trump “wrote a very generous letter.” But Biden said he wouldn't reveal its contents until he had a chance to speak with Trump.
The former president was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pledged that the U.S. and its allies wouldn't hesitate to use their sanctions powers to address Iran's "malign and destabilizing activity” in the region.