Trump’s Legacy for Biden; “Scorched Earth and a Heavy Price”

Will Trump’s acceptance of Biden’s presidency mean the new president can start his work without obstacles and problems? Is Trump’s legacy paving the way for Biden, or has it created a mass of obstacles and costs for him?

Spiegel Online has written in an analytical report that Donald Trump, President of the United States, will not back down from his opposition to Joe Biden and his victory in the presidential election of the country, and in the final weeks of his presence in the White House, he will try to create obstacles in Biden’s path in various ways. Actions that could have dire consequences for many Americans.

According to Spiegel, Trump will use every lever available to him in the opportunity he has to leave practically scorched earth for Biden by passing ninety-minute resolutions. His list of actions could range from sabotage to prevent economic growth in the coming years, which Biden desperately needs, to anti-environmental regulations, or expensive maneuvers in foreign policy.

These measures, which are mostly difficult to reverse or neutralize, are being taken to make both the start and continuation of work as difficult as possible for Biden and to pave the way for Republicans to return to power in the next round. Actions that, especially amid the coronavirus crisis, cause serious harm to American citizens.

Economic Sector

Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury Secretary, has terminated all financial assistance to this country’s coronavirus-stricken economy at the end of the year. This assistance includes loan guarantees of approximately $500 billion for municipalities and small businesses, which Congress provided as part of the emergency “care” package. The Federal Reserve, which manages these funds, must now return this money, despite the explicit opposition of Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, who has protested that the economy is “still strained and vulnerable” and dependent on this aid package.

Now, with the arrival of the second wave of coronavirus, which also leads to business closures in the country, the state of the American economy is severely worsening, and millions of Americans face serious harm, because Trump is taking from Biden the resources he needs to rectify this situation.

Environmental Sector

Trump wants to consolidate his anti-environmental policies in the remaining weeks. The U.S. Department of Interior is currently issuing highly unnecessary oil drilling permits in the largest natural reserve of the United States, which is the National Wildlife Refuge at the North Pole in Alaska. Drilling permission has also been granted in Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, which is home to native indigenous people (ancient Pueblo peoples) and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

New York University, in a study called the “Midnight Watcher Project,” has recorded three dozen anti-environmental measures that Trump has taken in the last opportunities he has. David Hayes, director of this project, told the Washington Post that “this final ‘uprising’ of the Trump administration could become a serious obstacle for Biden.” According to him, during four years, Trump has repealed more than 100 environmental laws enacted by his predecessor Barack Obama, and Joe Biden will not be able to restore all of them soon.

U.S. Security and Foreign Policy and Dealing with Iran

Donald Trump has fired Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense (former), and several other senior Pentagon officials, and Christopher Miller, Esper’s successor, has ordered the extensive withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and Iraq. The withdrawal of American forces from Somalia will also be implemented soon. An action that ties Biden’s hands in implementing his military policy in these areas.

Anti-war opponents welcome this Trump action, but many warn of the catastrophic consequences of the sudden withdrawal of American forces from these countries. America is engaged in fragile peace negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and there is now concern that NATO forces will also leave the country.

Trump can also take other actions; for example, measures against China that would tie Biden’s hands in improving relations with that country. For now, Trump’s advisors have managed to dissuade him from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in the final moments.

Judicial System

While Senate members these days are not rushing to address issues related to coronavirus, they are quickly deciding to fill vacant seats in the country’s judicial system. Since only the beginning of November, the U.S. Senate has confirmed six conservative regional judges for life, including a 33-year-old lawyer whose qualifications were rejected by the American Bar Association. Another one of Trump’s irreversible actions is the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett, an extremely conservative judge, who took the place of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, who passed away this fall.

According to Spiegel, Trump has also, contrary to current practice throughout America, accelerated the implementation of capital punishment executions at the state level. Orlando Hall, a man who kidnapped a teenage girl and, after raping her, buried her alive, was executed last week. This is the first execution carried out during the transition phase after elections (Lame Duck) since 1889. Five other people are scheduled to be executed by the end of Trump’s presidency, two of them just two weeks before Biden enters the White House. A Black man named Dustin Higgs is also scheduled to be executed on January 15th, the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a symbol of civil rights.

Source: DW