Biden marks first 100 days in office

As President Biden marks the milestone of his first 100 days in office, anti-death penalty advocates are growing frustrated with his silence and inaction on a campaign promise to end capital punishment.

While there haven't been any federal or state executions since Biden took office, about 2,500 men and women sit on death row in federal and state prisons across the country – and advocates say that, in the absence of an executive order from the White House, a state can at any moment schedule executions or the Justice Department can decide to calendar a federal inmate's death date.

Biden's plan to strengthen America's commitment to justice included a promise to pass legislation eliminating the death penalty on the federal level and to "incentivize states to follow the federal government's example. These individuals should instead serve life sentences without probation or parole."

During Biden's first 100 days in office, he has signed executive orders to reverse his predecessor's policies, signed a major economic stimulus bill and ramped up Covid vaccination rates. Virginia Democrats enacted legislation in March abolishing the state death penalty – the 23rd state, but the first southern one, to do so – yet Biden has remained focused on other agenda items.

The President has not directly addressed the death penalty since taking office – though White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in March that Biden continues to have "grave concerns" about the practice.

CNN reaching out to the White House for further comment and received the same statement from Psaki.

Abolishing the death penalty statute through Congress would prevent a future administration from restarting federal executions – as former President Trump did – but members of Congress, former and current law enforcement as well as civil and human rights groups are urging Biden to use his executive pen to pause the federal death penalty.

"There are mounting calls from criminal justice, law enforcement and other leaders for the President to seize this moment as an increasing number of governors in states like Virginia have moved in the direction to abolish the death penalty," said Miriam Krinsky, the executive director of the legal advocacy group Fair and Just Prosecution, one of dozens of legal organizations that sent letters to Biden urging him to take immediate action. "The death penalty should end in the federal landscape once and for all and in a way that can't be resurrected by a future administration."

You can read more on the issue here.

As early as December, President Biden was already pledging to get the majority of schools open by the end of his first 100 days in office.

Unlike other countries, the US leaves school control at the local level, and the challenges to providing in-person instruction are not the same everywhere, making it nearly impossible to create effective federal and even state-level guidance as the pandemic wears on. In some places, school authorities faced strong opposition from powerful teachers' unions.

At first there was confusion over how the administration defined reopening. When pressed about his administration's stance during a Feb.16 CNN town hall, Biden clarified that by the end of his first 100 days, "the goal will be five days a week" of in-person instruction or close to that for K-8 students in particular.

There are certainly more schools offering in-person instruction now than there were at the beginning of 2021. But it remains unclear whether a majority of schools are offering it five days a week for all students.

One estimate from the private data-tracking company Burbio says that about 65% of K-12 students are attending schools that offer in-person instruction each day, up from 33% the week Biden took office. About 29% currently attend schools offering hybrid models that include some in-person instruction, and less than 6% have only virtual options.

Younger students are more likely to be offered in-person learning. As of April 20, elementary and middle schools in a little more than half of the 101 largest school districts in the country are offering full five-day-a-week in-person instruction, according to CNN's tracking.

Some experts say the transition to in-person learning could have come more quickly, arguing that guidelines released by the CDC in February made it harder for schools to reopen. The CDC relaxed its physical distancing guidelines in March, recommending that most students maintain at least 3 feet of distance, accelerating the return to school for some.

We asked viewers from across the country to tell us what issues they'd like President Biden to focus on in the next 100 days and why. Several in the audience said they want the administration to act on education and student debt forgiveness.

Here's what they told us:

Sabrina, New York

Al from Reading, Pennsylvania

Amanda from Austin, Texas

Randa, New Jersey

Kaitlyn, Wichita Falls, Texas

Wes, Washington, DC

Note: Some responses have been shortened for length.

President Biden kicked off his presidency by naming the most racially diverse Cabinet in US history, disbanding the 1776 commission and taking steps to address racial economic inequality, including signing executive orders that could potentially help bridge the gap in homeownership between people of color and White people, strengthen the fight against bigotry faced by Asian Americans and ease the anxiety of families with incarcerated relatives.

Biden signed an executive order in January repealing a Trump-era ban on most transgender Americans joining the military. The Pentagon said in March that its updated policies, which make it easier for transgender people to join and to access medical treatment while serving, go into effect April 30. The changes will also protect transgender people from discrimination within the services.

In the wake of last week's conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, Biden called systemic racism "a stain on our nation's soul" and said he was heartened by the jury's verdict, the testimony of other police officers against Chauvin throughout the trial and the collective realization about the reality of systemic racism worldwide that has taken place since Floyd's death.

Yet his administration said in April that it would stand down on a campaign promise to create a White House-led commission on policing and instead move forward with efforts to pass police reform through legislative channels.

President Biden has moved fast since his Jan. 20 swearing-in, signing a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill into law less than two months into his term and issuing more executive orders so far than his three predecessors.

Those efforts have paid off, with the administration reaching the milestones of 200 million coronavirus shots delivered and vaccine eligibility opened to everyone 16 and over before Biden's 100th day in office. Still, there are big agenda items he is yet to accomplish.

We asked viewers from across the country to share which issues they'd like Biden to focus on in the next 100 days and why. Here's what some of them told us:

Samantha, Florida

Francisco, Alhambra, California

Ryan, Chicago

Emma, Pennsylvania

Phyllis, Central Florida

Maha, Chicago

Bharath, Sunnyvale, California

Tammy, Kingman, Arizona

Thiru, Georgia

Doug, Gulf Coast

Note: Some responses have been shortened for length.

President Biden has signed several executive actions taking aim at former President Trump's hardline immigration policies, including reversing Trump's travel ban targeting largely Muslim countries and fortifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program after Trump's efforts to undo protections for undocumented people brought into the country as children. 

Biden created a task force focused on identifying and reuniting migrant families separated at the US-Mexico border as a result of Trump's controversial "zero tolerance" policy, and he revoked a Trump-era proclamation that limited legal immigration during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Biden rescinded Trump's national emergency declaration, which allowed his predecessor to dip into additional funds for his signature border wall, and called for a review of ongoing wall projects. He narrowed immigration enforcement in the US. The President also directed relevant agencies to ensure LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers have equal access to protections.

Biden went on to end Trump's so-called "remain in Mexico" policy, which required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their immigration court dates in the United States, and began the gradual entry of migrants who still had active cases. His administration also initiated a review of policies "that have effectively closed the US border to asylum seekers."  

Yet the Biden administration has struggled to keep up with the influx of migrants coming to the US southern border, particularly unaccompanied minors, who have been held in Border Patrol stations as officials scramble to find sites to accommodate them.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which is charged with the care of unaccompanied migrant children, announced or opened at least 11 new temporary facilities to try to get kids out of Border Patrol stations, which are akin to jail-like conditions and not suited for children.

Vice President Kamala Harris was assigned by Biden to oversee efforts with Central American countries to stem the flow of migrants to the US southern border. It is the first major issue Biden has assigned Harris, who's expected to travel to Mexico and Guatemala.

On legal immigration, Biden signed an order seeking to reverse Trump-era policies that targeted low-income immigrants, including calling for a review of the public charge rule, which makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers, and reestablished a Task Force on New Americans.

Biden has, however, gone back and forth on refugee admissions. The White House recently said the President would set a new, increased refugee cap by May 15 after facing blowback for keeping the Trump-era ceiling of 15,000, though without the restrictions put in place by Trump.

A month after he laid out a roughly $2 trillion infrastructure plan aimed at helping the nation recover from the coronavirus pandemic, President Biden unveiled an additional $1.8 trillion federal investment in education, child care and paid family leave during his first address to Congress last night.

The massive package — which Biden is calling the American Families Plan — is the second half of his effort to revitalize the nation and ensure a more equitable recovery. The proposal would also extend or make permanent enhancements to several key tax credits that were contained in the Democrats' $1.9 trillion rescue bill, which Biden signed into law last month.

The President intends to finance the latest package by hiking taxes on the rich, saying he wants to reward work, not wealth. His new proposed measures would raise about $1.5 trillion over a decade. The families plan pairs with Biden's infrastructure proposal, known as the American Jobs Plan, which calls for improving the nation's roads, bridges, broadband, railways and schools.

Here's a closer look at what is in the plan:

Read more about the proposal here.

President Biden has acted swiftly to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, one of his main campaign promises. His administration has already taken multiple steps to reverse efforts by Trump to destroy the Democrats' landmark health care law.

Biden reopened the federal Affordable Care Act exchange in mid-February, giving uninsured Americans until mid-August to sign up for 2021 coverage and allowing existing enrollees to shop for better plans with their beefed-up subsidies, which last for two years.

That additional assistance was part of the Democrats' $1.9 trillion relief package. Enrollees will now pay no more than 8.5% of their incomes toward coverage, down from nearly 10%. And lower-income policyholders and the jobless will receive subsidies that eliminate their premiums completely.

Also, those earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level – about $51,000 for a single person and $104,800 for a family of four in 2021 – are now eligible for help for the first time.

The 14 states, and the District of Columbia, that run their own exchanges have also extended enrollment, though the durations differ by state.

Laid-off workers who want to stay on their work-based coverage will receive subsidies that pay the full premium cost from April through September, as part of the relief package.

Biden has also started withdrawing approvals from the Trump administration that enable states to mandate work requirements in Medicaid.

And the administration has asked the Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act, reversing the position of the Trump administration, which joined Republican-led states in urging the justices to strike down the entire law. The justices have not yet ruled in the case — and if they upend Obamacare, it's not clear what Biden and congressional Democrats will be able to pass to replace it.

Facing a crisis of his own, before taking office President Biden made some big promises about what he hoped to accomplish within his first 100 days. 

Following the death of George Floyd, Biden committed to creating a national police oversight commission in the first 100 days of his presidency if elected.

Reality: This is one promise Biden has not followed through on. Mere weeks before his 100th day, his administration decided to stand down on such a commission, and will instead try to pass police reform through legislation. In the wake of another Black man being shot by police in the US, Biden's Domestic Policy Council director, Susan Rice, released a statement announcing the decision.

According to a source familiar with the administration's efforts, the decision was made after conversations with civil rights leaders and police unions and in "close collaboration" with the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Here's a look at how other campaign promises measure up against reality.