President Biden is now two months into his term after a contentious election cycle and lead-up to his January 20 inauguration. He inherits the COVID-19 pandemic, a floundering real economy, a rise in racial violence, amidst other problems. With control of all three branches of government, the Democrats under Biden were expected to bring significant results to the table. So how has Biden done?

COVID-19: B-

Compared to the record of the Trump administration, the current government has seen wild improvements in the field of COVID-19 and public health. On his first day, President Biden introduced a federal mask mandate (applying to all federal buildings, lands, and employees), and introduced a FEMA directive the next day to reimburse states for the costs of emergency equipment and the deployment of the National Guard in response to the pandemic. Simultaneously, Biden enacted the Defence Production Act allowing direct influence over the manufacturing of supplies for health care purposes, which has improved production and access. Additionally, the landmark American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was passed on March 6.

Though the initiatives have been ambitious, the results have been lukewarm in some areas. The situation is improving around the country, yet the infection and mortality associated with the pandemic is still horrendous for a wealthy developed nation. Cases have returned to their fall levels, but the United States still sits near the top of the world in the number of new cases and deaths each day. The vaccine rollout has been faster than most nations (which is expected as three vaccines were developed by American companies), but has been plagued by many issues.

Stimulus: C-

Undoubtedly, it is a positive accomplishment of the Biden administration to pass the %1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which not only delivers $1400 checks to many Americans, but provides unemployment benefits, expansion of healthcare funding under COBRA, funding for housing, and of course combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the third such massive stimulus legislation since March 2020, and the first under the Biden administration.

The passage of this bill was however plagued by political setbacks and significant reductions. The $1400 checks go against the promised $2000 that won Democrats the Senate in Georgia. The promise of “out the door immediately” was not adequately prioritized by the Biden administration, which sat on its hands for over a month on the issue, instead focusing on attempts to get political appointments through than lobbying the Democratic majority into supporting it. The same thing happened with the attempted minimum wage hike, which the Biden administration gave up on almost immediately after a single technical non-binding technical suggestion against it by the Senate Parliamentarian, which could be overruled by the Vice President. At the same time, some stimulus benefits were reduced from legislation under the Trump administration, and the changing of the income caps meant that less people received stimulus than they had before.

Immigration: F

Simply put, Biden promised a break from the repressive and inhumane methods of his predecessors in dealing with immigration, and that was an abject lie. He promised a halt on deportations, yet refused to fight for it when a court opposed it. Over 26,000 people were deported in the first month alone. Guidelines to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were left virtually unchanged, and contracts with private prisons for holding migrants were not severed as they had been pledged too. Seemingly, Democrats have changed the famous “kids in cages” mantra during the Trump administration to “childhood migrant overflow facilities,” though the same institutions remain in place. As of now, no significant break has been made from either the Trump or Obama administration's harmful immigration practices.

Foreign Policy: D

Similar to immigration, the Biden foreign policy has not been a break from the past two administrations. Middle Eastern policy continues to be abysmal, as unnecessary and needlessly aggressive provocations against Iran continue to stir the region, and the United States still provides succor to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it wages a campaign of brutality in Yemen, despite promises not to do so. The new intelligence reports about the Saudi Crown Prince and de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman’s (known as MBS) direct involvement in the brutal murder of Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi were similarly ignored, as the Biden administration claimed it could do nothing to sanction the leader, despite longstanding practice of doing so elsewhere. Relations with both the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation continue to be strained with little to no sign from the Biden administration at easing or improving them. Antagonization remains the working plan for both nations, along with Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba.

The administration’s policy towards foreign leaders other than MBS, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin however have been mixed. The Biden administration has thrown its weight both behind and against authoritarian developments around the world. It is currently backing Haiti’s Jovenal Moïse in his occupation of the Presidency despite his term completing in February and the ongoing three years of protests against his rule. However, the Biden administration was quick to condemn and sanction the perpetrators of the military coup in Myanmar. Additionally, the Biden administration has shown itself to be willing to re engage with international organizations, such as the World Health Organization.

Social Policy: B

As America continues her reckoning on the issues of racial violence and civil rights, President Biden and his government have shown themselves to be willing to engage in the betterment of these causes. The President has mostly refrained from targeted attacks on movements such as Black Lives Matter, as opposed to his predecessor, and has offered substantial condemnation of the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans across the country. Representation in cabinet and government jobs has also grown, both along racial and gender lines. At the same time, Biden lifted the controversial ban on transgender individuals serving in the US military that President Trump had signed in 2017.

Shortcomings of the current government however include a lack of adequate focus on reforming the justice system against mass incarceration and cruelty, and the contradictory stoking of hatred against China, which in turn has spurred the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.

Final Verdict: C-

To be fair to President Biden, it has only been two months and he holds only a slim majority in the Senate. But as of now, there has not been an adequate departure from the Trump administration. Harmful immigration and foreign policy practices plague the administration, as does a sluggish response to economic stimulus and justice reform. Only the next 46 months (or potentially 94 with a second term) will show how the administration handles the issues facing itself and the nation as a whole.