By Wisley Lau

It’s Wednesday, January 20th, 2021. Joe Biden officially becomes the 46th president of the United States, after a peaceful-ish transfer of power from the predecessor, Donald Trump. President Biden and his team have a lot of problems to fix.

Domestic Problems

It is without a doubt that during the Trump administration, the novel coronavirus wreaked havoc in the country, with its leader having no interest in controlling the spread. Biden’s first problem with tackling the coronavirus will be trying to slow down the spread of the virus. It will be difficult as there is a new strain of the virus appearing in a few states, adding more pressure to an already stressed medical system. Biden has already pledged to introduce a mask mandate for 100 days, promised to make Covid testing free, and called for wider application of vaccines. 

However, not only are there problems with flattening the Covid curve, there are also economic and social problems which Biden’s administration needs to solve. Unemployment is reaching record highs, the worst since the Great Depression in the 1920s. The administration needs to offer incentives and other benefits to the American people. Not only that, health care will be put on the debate stage as then-Vice President Joe Biden, under the Obama administration, initiated the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and promised to protect and improve the bill. However, it will face opposition from the Republicans as they have attacked the bill for more than ten years, and even tried to repeal it under the Trump administration. And with coronavirus impacting health care for those who were affected by it, the ACA will be under the spotlight again.

Now the Senate majority has been decided, thanks to Georgia's runoff election, with two Democrats winning the remaining two senate seats, the 50-50 tie along party lines can be broken by Vice President Kamala Harris, giving the Democrats a majority. This will prevent Republicans blocking and delaying President Biden’s agenda. Although they will voice dissent and vote against the Democrats, as Trumpism has run deep into the party, they will have limited power to block whatever proposal is in their way. This means coronavirus response measures can now be passed in spite of the fierce debates within the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

After the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court might also be a factor in impeding Biden’s agenda. With six conservative and three liberal judges, even if Justice John Roberts joins the liberal side, the conservatives will still have a majority of five to four. There have been suggestions of packing the court, in legislative terms, which means the president could add more justices into the Supreme Court to redress the imbalance. That is not a first, but as mentioned before, the Republicans will cry foul on the issue and there will be unintended consequences for the Democrats that Biden needs to consider before taking such extreme measures.

Meanwhile within the Democrat Party itself, Biden also has a tough crowd to face. Even though many people voted for Biden, lots of people only did that as a vote against Trump. Those who reluctantly voted for Biden are progressives: they support Medicare For All, free college, a Green New Deal to tackle climate change and other progressive ideas. Progressives have been denounced in right-wing media as socialists and people who seek to destroy America. Many progressives are supporters of Bernie Sanders, who was defeated in the 2020 election primaries. Now they are investing hope in Biden to enact progressive ideas in his administration, but even if Biden agrees to implement progressive policies, there will be dissatisfaction from Centrists, Democrats who want to be moderate and not stir any changes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, and even Joe Biden himself are on the Centrist list. 

Foreign Problems

Under Trump, America is more isolated diplomatically than at any time in modern history. For Biden, redemption and forgiveness will be a long and hard road to make. He has promised to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the WHO. Biden will also have a difficult challenge getting back along with America's European allies and allies at NATO, who have been frequently denounced by Trump during his administration. 

Apart from these issues, Biden has to confront global conflicts that have spawned for decades.  The problematic situation in the Middle East is an intricate topic that takes an essay to fully explain. Or take the example of Russia, with Putin interfering with America with the Internet by online trolls and hackers. Biden needs to figure out appropriate ways to punish Russia, with the cooperation of its NATO allies. But the most difficult part of all is China, with its ascent in international power being increasingly visible, and with the aid of the global pandemic with its quick recovery, the country is perceived more and more as a threat to US politicians. During the campaign Biden was accused by fellow Democrats as being soft on China. Later, he increased his rhetoric. For example, during the debates, Biden talked about making China play along with global rules fair and square. Biden would not likely decrease tariffs initiated by Trump in the trade war, but he will react reasonably to the situation. However, there is a low possibility that US-China relationships will return to the Obama-era due to factors in both countries, like nationalism and cynicism toward the other side. Also, Biden would likely criticize other countries like China more often for human rights abuses. For example, the abuses of human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

But the most important international issue is climate change, as we can see in the news, is growing ever more intensely, especially in the past few years. From wildfires in Australia and California to massive flooding and increasingly intense hurricanes, President Biden has committed to tackling the problem. He is calling for a clean energy revolution to ensure net-zero-emissions by 2050. He has even added to his cabinet with a team focusing on climate change, with former secretary of state John Kerry as the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. Kerry will lead global efforts diplomatically and persuade other countries to follow the Paris Agreement and solve climate change.

These problems are just the tip of the iceberg of the issues and pressures facing the incoming president. From my perspective as a bystander, I can only wish you the best of luck, Mr. President!