Sad day in history of world’s most powerful democracy as Biden-Harris will be greeted to sea of American flags on Capitol Hill swarmed by National Guard. It will be Vice President Kamala Harris who will wield power in the Senate and administration.
@prashanthamine
Mumbai: In one way the Inauguration (swearing-in) of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States of America and Kamala Harris as the 49th Vice President of USA will be greeted by a sea of American national flags and National Guards who are swarming all over the Capitol Hill on Wednesday. In a way it is indicative of the grim and sad state of affairs that America and its democracy finds itself in today.
In the first of the few major executive orders that US President Joe Biden is expected to sign include – US rejoining the Paris Climate Change Agreement (Paris Accord), US rejoining the World Health Organisation (WHO) and stimulus package to revive the economy and those related to tackling the Coronavirus pandemic.
Taking no chances after what happened on January 6 at the Capitol Hill, US secret service and security agencies have turned the Capitol Hill into a fortress surrounded by high fenced barbed wire fences. There will be around 2,000 American flags in the visitor’s enclosure instead of the visitors. The flags will represent the 50 US states, territories and prominent people. If that is not enough about 25,000 National Guards will be on duty swarming all over the Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon.
Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, Justice John G Roberts Jr will administer oath of office and secrecy to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at the Capitol Hill.
Biden has been the 47the Vice President of the USA between 2009 and 2017 during the Obama administration. Kamala Harris will be the first African-American and also Asian-American woman Vice President.
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In a Senate where the Democrats enjoy a wafer-thin majority, the real power will be wielded by the Vice President who will if need be have the right to exercise the Tiebreaker vote. The other most powerful woman on the Capitol Hill will be the House of Representative (Congress) Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It is already talked about on the Capitol Hill that these two most powerful women will dominate and dictate the Biden presidency.
There have been 15 women who have been Secretaries (Ministers) in the US administration in the last 40 years between 1977 and 2017. Hillary Clinton tried to get the Democrat nomination for the US Presidential race, but never succeeded in fulfilling her ambitions of becoming the first woman President of the USA.
She is among the only three women Secretaries of State (Home Minister) which include – Madeleine Albright (Democrat) in 1997 in the Bill Clinton administration, Condoleezza Rice (Republican) in 2005 during George Bush administration and Hillary Clinton (Democrat) in 2009 during Barack Obama administration.
Besides signing the executive orders rescinding the Trump administration orders on US pullouts from the Paris Climate Change Agreement and WHO, Biden is also likely to renew the US ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Europe.
However, the outgoing Trump administration has left behind a minefield of problems for the Biden administration. On the last day in office, out-going Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement declaring the treatment by China of its ethnic Uyghur’s in Xinjiang province as “ethnic cleansing”. The Global Times, the official state media has denied the claims and instead posted a picture of a Chinese girl greeting her Uyghur friends.
Besides that the Trump administration has declassified the Indo-Pacific policy agreement that relates to US participation in helping its allies in the Indo-Pacific region in tackling China. Furthermore, the Trump administration has imposed heavy tariffs, restrictions and sanctions on the Chinese and the Russians.
Apart from the Asian-American origins of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Biden administration has 19 American-Indians. Of them only Dr Vivek Murthy and Neeru Tanden have been high ranking officials also in the previous Obama administration as well. The other 17 Americans of Indian origin are mostly born Americans and very few are Indians who have migrated to the US long back.
Dr Vivek Murthy was earlier in the Health Services ministry and will now assist the President in his efforts to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic. Neeru Tanden will be Director of US office of Management and Budget, a post that she had held during the Obama presidency.
