Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Coronavirus Crisis Dominates Biden's First 100 High-Stakes Days
USA Today: Joe Biden's First 100 Days: Why Should We Care About The Milestone?
President Joe Biden will cross the 100-day mark of his presidency on Friday, an arbitrary date on the calendar, but a decades-old standard used to judge presidents. The spotlight has been on the president’s first 100 days since he was sworn in and vowed to use that time to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and reverse many policies of former President Donald Trump. (Santucci, 4/25)
NBC News: ‘Help Is Here’: 100 Days Of The Biden Doctrine
By traditional measures — number of laws enacted and programs created or abolished — President Joe Biden's first 100 days in office look relatively sleepy. He has made no discernible difference in the organizational charts of the federal government and has signed only seven bills into law, tying him with George W. Bush for the fewest since Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a record 76 laws in his first 100 days in office. But Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief measure is the most expensive law ever enacted during the first phase of a presidency. His flurry of executive actions, many aimed at undoing his predecessor's legacy, include re-entry into the Paris climate accords, expansion of access to Obamacare and new support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, President Barack Obama's program for undocumented people who were brought to the U.S. as children. (Allen, 4/26)
NPR: Status Of Biden's Promises After 100 Days In Office
As we approach the 100-day mark of his presidency, and ahead of his first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Biden has made a lot of progress on COVID-19, and Americans largely approve of the job he's doing handling the coronavirus pandemic and the economy. (Montanaro, 4/26)
AP: Biden's First 100 Days: Where He Stands On Key Promises
As he rounds out his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden’s focus on reining in the coronavirus during the early months of his administration seems to have paid off: He can check off nearly all his campaign promises centered on the pandemic. Biden has delivered on a number of his biggest campaign pledges focused on climate change and the economy as well. But some issues have proved to be tougher for the administration — including immigration, where Biden is grappling with how to enact promised reforms in the face of a steep increase in unaccompanied minors seeking to cross the border. On some of his promises, Biden is waiting for Congress to act. (Jaffe, Madhani and Vineys, 4/26)
Axios: Biden's 100-Day Numbers: Vaccinated Americans
Joe Biden promised as president-elect to get 100 million coronavirus vaccine shots in American arms during his first 100 days in office; since taking office, he's more than doubled that goal — and more than a quarter of Americans are now fully vaccinated. Not quite 1% were vaccinated when Biden took office, although the Trump administration managed to reach an important milestone of 1 million doses administered in a day. (Kight, 4/25)
The Washington Post: Americans Give Biden Mostly Positive Marks For First 100 Days, Post-ABC Poll Finds
President Biden nears the end of his first 100 days in office with a slight majority of Americans approving of his performance and supporting his major policy initiatives, but his approval rating is lower than any recent past presidents except Donald Trump, with potential warning signs ahead about his governing strategy, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Overall, 52 percent of adults say they approve of the job Biden is doing, compared with 42 percent who disapprove. At this point in his presidency four years ago, Trump’s rating was nearly the reverse, with approval at 42 percent and disapproval at 53 percent. Overall, 34 percent of Americans say they strongly approve of Biden’s performance, compared with 35 percent who strongly disapprove. (Balz, Clement and Guskin, 4/25)
