As people and markets around the world adjust to having Joe Biden as U.S. president, a key factor is what the veteran Democratic politician aims to accomplish without having to work with Congress.
Biden is making use of executive orders that affect health care XLV, -1.81%, the energy sector XLE, -0.07%, prison stocks and other areas.
Below is a table showing orders that he signed on Jan. 20, his first day in office, as well as other executive actions that have followed or are expected.
Key Biden executive actions
| Subject | Type of action | Date |
| Re-engage with World Health Organization | End withdrawal process | Jan. 20 |
| Create position of COVID-19 response coordinator | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Rejoin Paris climate agreement | Sign an “instrument” | Jan. 20 |
| Revoke permit for Keystone XL pipeline, pause energy leasing in ANWR | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Ask agencies to extend eviction/foreclosure moratoriums | Request | Jan. 20 |
| Ask Education Dept. to extend student-loan pause | Request | Jan. 20 |
| Launch an initiative to advance racial equity, end “1776 Commission” | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Revoke order that aims to exclude undocumented immigrants from census | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Preserve/fortify DACA, which helps “Dreamers” | Memorandum | Jan. 20 |
| Require masks/distancing on all federal property and by federal workers | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Reverse travel ban targeting primarily Muslim countries | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Stop construction of border wall | Proclamation | Jan. 20 |
| Combat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Require ethics pledge for executive-branch personnel | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Modernize and improve regulatory review | Memorandum | Jan. 20 |
| End “harsh and extreme immigration enforcement” | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Extend protection from deportation for Liberians in U.S. | Memorandum | Jan. 20 |
| Revoke certain executive orders concerning federal regulation | Executive order | Jan. 20 |
| Freeze any new or pending regulations | Memorandum | Jan. 20 |
| Fill supply shortfalls in fight vs. COVID-19 with Defense Production Act, other measures | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| Increase FEMA reimbursement to states for National Guard, PPE | Memorandum | Jan. 21 |
| Establish “COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board,” expand testing | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| Bolster access to COVID-19 treatments and clinical care | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| Improve collection/analysis of COVID-related data | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| Mount vaccination campaign amid goals such as 100 million shots in 100 days | Directives | Jan. 21 |
| Provide guidance on safely reopening schools | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| OSHA guidance for keeping workers safe from COVID-19 | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| Require face masks at airports, other modes of transportation | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| Establish a “COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force” | Executive order | Jan. 21 |
| Support international response to COVID-19, “restore U.S. global leadership” | Directive | Jan. 21 |
| Ask agencies to boost food aid, improve delivery of stimulus checks | Executive order | Jan. 22 |
| Restore collective bargaining power for federal workers | Executive order | Jan. 22 |
| Repeal ban on transgender people serving openly in U.S. military | Executive order | Jan. 25 |
| Tighten ‘Buy American’ rules in government procurement | Executive order | Jan. 25 |
| Reinstate coronavirus travel restrictions on Brazil, most of Europe | Proclamation | Jan. 25 |
| End the Justice Department’s use of private prisons | Executive order | Jan. 26 |
| Directs HUD to address discriminatory housing practices | Memorandum | Jan. 26 |
| Combat racism against Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders | Memorandum | Jan. 26 |
| Directs agencies to engage in consultations with tribal governments | Memorandum | Jan. 26 |
| Pause new oil and gas leasing on U.S. lands/waters, elevate climate change as national-security, foreign-policy priority | Executive order | Expected Jan. 27 |
| Re-establish President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology | Executive order | Expected Jan. 27 |
| Directs agencies to make decisions on best available science, evidence | Memorandum | Expected Jan. 27 |
| Reopen Obamacare marketplaces, lower recent barriers to joining Medicaid | TBD | Expected Jan. 28 |
| Lift certain restrictions on abortion funding | TBD | Expected Jan. 28 |
| End “Remain in Mexico” program aimed at Central American asylum seekers | TBD | Expected Jan. 29 |
| Start roll back of “public charge rule,” which imposes a wealth test on would-be immigrants | TBD | Expected Jan. 29 |
| Create task force to reunite migrant families separated at the border | TBD | Expected Jan. 29 |
Source: Biden administration, multiple published reports
U.S. stocks DJIA, -1.16% SPX, -1.47% lost ground Wednesday after closing in the red Tuesday, as investors tracked earnings reports and GameStop’s ongoing Reddit-fueled surge — and as easy passage of Biden’s proposed $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package looked in doubt.
Read more:Biden to announce freeze on new oil, gas leases on federal land and other climate-related actions
And see:Biden to reopen Obamacare marketplaces: report
Plus:Biden plans immigration-related executive orders on Friday to reverse Trump’s policies
This is an updated version of a report first published on Jan. 21, 2021.