The first order of business should be actions related to getting us through the pandemic. Of those, the most important will be devising a plan to ramp up the vaccination of at least 60% of the population. The pandemic is by far our most pressing challenge as a nation. The sooner we get through this challenge, the sooner we can return to some measure of normalcy.
The second order of business should be executive orders. Here, while some orders from the previous administration can be reversed, the process is much more complicated with formal regulations. And rushing to undo things without going through the proper steps would leave the administration open to a myriad court challenges. This is what happened to Trump. As WaPo wrote in 2019:[1]
Federal judges have ruled against the Trump administration at least 63 times over the past two years, an extraordinary record of legal defeat that has stymied large parts of the president’s agenda on the environment, immigration and other matters.
In case after case, judges have rebuked Trump officials for failing to follow the most basic rules of governance for shifting policy, including providing legitimate explanations supported by facts and, where required, public input.
Many of the cases are in early stages and subject to reversal. For example, the Supreme Court permitted a version of President Trump’s ban on travelers from certain predominantly Muslim nations to take effect after lower-court judges blocked the travel ban as discriminatory.
But regardless of whether the administration ultimately prevails, the rulings so far paint a remarkable portrait of a government rushing to implement far-reaching changes in policy without regard for long-standing rules against arbitrary and capricious behavior.
The Biden administration will be run by professionals who will do their utmost to avoid such outcomes. Many regulations will not be immediately reversed. It pays to take the time to do it right, even if it means that you don’t get what you want right away.
The third thing Biden should do is pass some healthcare reform bill that will at the very least provide a strong public option. In my dream of dreams, that option would be available to employees and employers alike. If it is designed well enough, it should prove to be popular enough that more and more people will voluntarily choose it over time. And given enough time, we would have a mostly public insurance system in the US, as happened in Australia. No need to ban anything or force anyone into anything.
The fourth thing Biden should do is to have a conversation with a certain Stephen Breyer. He shouldn’t tell him what to do—that would be improper, after all. But he should tell him the tale of two liberal heroes, Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who declined opportunities to retire when they had a Democratic Congress and president in place and thereby did irreparable harm to the liberal cause.
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