OnPolitics: Why Biden's first 100 days matters

Monday, April 26

President Joe Biden speaks Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the White House in Washington, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

The milestone is almost here. So why do President Biden's first 100 days matter?

Monday has been a buzzy day for the Supreme Court. The high court agreed to hear a New York case that could expand protections for carrying concealed-carry rights in public places. The justices also heard arguments in a challenge to disclosure requirements that could make it easier for donors to spend anonymously.

And this week marks President Joe Biden's first 100 days in office. (We've got you covered on why this matters below 👇)

It's Mabinty with today's top political news.

Why the president's first 100 days matter

Short answer: It's a decades-old standard used to judge presidents.

Longer, more complicated answer: Historically, presidents, Congress and the media have looked at the first 100 days of an administration as a benchmark of progress to set the tone of the administration's priorities and to judge its success so far. We can thank FDR for that.

Scholars trace the importance of the first 100 days back to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose swift action in the first months of his term to combat the Great Depression made his administration a standard by which presidents have since been held.

Biden will cross the 100-day mark of his presidency on Friday. So what's happened since Biden has been in office? A raging pandemic, an economic downturn and racial unrest greeted the 46th president. While Biden has focused on fighting the COVID-19 virus, new challenges have complicated his adminstration. We take a look at the days that could define his presidency.

The DOJ investigates another police department

The story: The Justice Department has launched a wide-ranging investigation that will look at whether the Louisville Police Department engaged in a pattern of abuse . The investigation will examine whether officers used unreasonable force, including during peaceful protests, engaged in unconstitutional stops and seizures, unlawful search warrant executions in houses and discriminated against people based on race.

Was this based on Breonna Taylor's death? Attorney General Merrick Garland did not say. But in brief remarks Monday, Garland acknowledged the settlement the city has reached with Taylor's family.

Under Garland, the Justice Department is moving swiftly to reinvigorate federal oversight of police departments after it languished during the Trump administration. Justice Department intervention in local policing matters was largely stalled during the Trump administration, but Garland reversed that policy earlier this month, signaling that the Biden administration intends to more aggressively investigate police departments accused of civil rights violations amid deepening distrust of law enforcement.

What else is going on today?

•	U.S. to share up to 60 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses with other countries
•	CNN commentator Rick Santorum receives backlash for comment on Native American culture
•	Democrats pressure Biden to include Medicare expansion, prescription drugs in his American Families Plan
•	Fox News, NBC polls: Biden maintains positive approval ratings as 100-day mark approaches