The revolving door of executive orders continues to spin.

President Biden will sign a pair of executive actions Thursday focused on heath care, the White House confirmed.

The actions, one of which will be an executive order, include opening a special enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and directing federal agencies to review existing policies to remove barriers to joining Medicaid.

The new enrollment period will be from Feb. 15 to May 15, 2021.

Agencies will also be directed to review policies that discourage enrollment in the ACA.

In the executive action he will sign is aimed toward protecting and expanding “access to comprehensive reproductive health care.”

Executive orders are legally binding, and as a result, are published in the Federal Register. Executive actions, by contrast, are more often symbolic efforts to enact change.

The 46th commander-in-chief is capping off his first week in office by setting a record for the greatest number of executive orders by a sitting president in their first week in office.

On Monday, he signed orders focused on his “Buy American” agenda, which was criticized for sounding similar to former President Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” initiatives.

On Tuesday, Biden signed four items, all focused on “racial equity.” On Wednesday, he signed executive actions focused on the environment and climate change.

After being inaugurated last Wednesday, Biden spent the first three days of his presidency issuing dozens upon dozens of edicts.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his administration’s response to climate change.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his administration’s response to climate change.
Anna Moneymaker / Pool via CNP /MediaPunch

The president signed 10 orders related to invoking the Defense Production Act and launching his COVID-19 response, and 15 orders that addressed other policy differences between Biden and his predecessor.

Of those 15 orders, Biden halted construction of the southern border wall and the travel ban from countries with heightened terror concerns, two signature campaign proposals from Trump.

Other actions include rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, which Trump withdrew the US from in 2017, as well as the World Health Organization, which Trump withdrew from due to the agency’s botched handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden has also signed orders extending moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures, and deferrals on student loan payments, as well as halting construction on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, counting non-citizens in the US census and strengthening workplace discrimination protections based on sex and gender.

In another action, he called on Congress to grant permanent status to Dreamers as part of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump challenged in court.



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