Joe Biden has anchored the first 100 days of his presidency on two key goals: delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the masses and offering financial relief in response to the pandemic via a $US1.9-trillion-dollar stimulus package.
The 46th US president is set to mark his first 100 days with a televised speech on Wednesday (local time), in what will be his first address to Congress.
He's expected to promote what he touts as a plan of massive government spending to get the United States not just back on its feet but striding forward in a new direction.
US political expert David Smith says the earliest days of the presidency are a time of critical importance, where it is necessary to showcase political skill.
"It is a time when you have the most goodwill from your party, the other party, the media and the public, so what any president does in that time is very important," Professor Smith told SBS News.
In Mr Biden's case, he took just hours to begin work on dismantling predecessor Donald Trump's legacy, signing off on more than a dozen executive orders relating to the COVID-19 response, immigration and climate change among other issues.
The coronavirus response
Ahead of his 100-day milestone, Mr Biden has hailed the delivery of 200 million COVID-19 vaccine shots ahead of deadline.
The president has also made progress on his government's economic response to the coronavirus pandemic, having formally unveiled an “American Rescue Plan” economic package which passed Congress in March.
The president had to work hard to get the nearly $US2 trillion plan passed, with the Democrats' margin in Congress being razor-thin.
In doing so, he has followed through on a promise to provide support to Americans via stimulus checks, funding for schools to implement safety measures and reopen, small business funding, and money for vaccinations, testing and contact tracing.
"Biden inherited a very ineffective structure of response to the coronavirus at both a state and federal level and he had two very clear priorities - handling the COVID-19 crisis and the economic crisis that came with that," Professor Smith said.
"He has achieved this via his stimulus package, which has been key in alleviating the crisis and his handling of the vaccine rollout has been one of the most successful in the world."
Immigration
A short time into his tenure, Mr Biden moved to end his predecessor's travel ban on immigration from mostly Muslim-majority and African countries, and for the US-Mexico border wall.
Mr Biden had promised a more humane approach after Mr Trump's hardline crackdown, which relied largely on physical barriers.
But the Biden administration has stumbled on handling illegal immigration at the southern border.
The new administration was unprepared for the surge in people, many from Central America, that overwhelmed facilities with unaccompanied migrant children and fuelled critics with political ammunition.
And the sense of disarray has only been fuelled by the Biden administration's back-and-forth on promises to greatly increase the cap on refugees allowed into the United States.
Professor Smith said immigration was one area where Mr Biden had fallen short.
"The administration has been sending mixed signals but this is not a problem that will go away, there has already been a surge of asylum seekers at the border, and with the US withdrawing from Afghanistan, there could be another surge in the refugee crisis," Professor Smith said.
"Biden needs to deliver on his immigration policies, even if this proves to be politically challenging."
Climate change
Mr Biden moved quickly to wind back a number of Mr Trump's environmental policies, and bring the United States back into the Paris climate accords.
Last week, he went a step further and convened a 40-nation climate summit where he announced a doubling of US targets for greenhouse gas reductions.
Mr Biden's new goal is to cut emissions by 50 to 52 per cent from 2005 levels, by 2030.
Associate Professor Smith described the target as ambitious, while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week said it was "game changing".
"This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis," Mr Biden said at the White House earlier this month.
International affairs
Mr Biden moved quickly to repair ties with allies, and re-join international organisations and agreements.
In a bid to reverse what he deemed a retreat from the global stage, Mr Biden re-entered the Paris climate accord, reversed Mr Trump''s decision to withdraw the US from the World Health Organisation and has been seeking to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
He has also been tough regarding America's chief challengers. The president has imposed sanctions on Russia, maintained Mr Trump's trade tariffs on China, allowed US diplomats to visit Taiwan, and ratcheted up pressure on China over its treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang province and its crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong.
While Professor Smith acknowledged the president's efforts in international affairs, he expressed concern over his decision to keep the China tariffs in place.
"He has chosen to maintain this elevation and level of confrontation with China, but there is no evidence that this will be any more effective in placing pressure on them for him than it was for Trump," he said.
Ending America's 'longest war'
Perhaps one of the Mr Biden's biggest moves in his first 100 days was to announce that US military forces will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by 11 September.
The decision was not without risk, with some concerns it could allow the resurgence of extremist groups and embolden the Taliban.
But Professor Smith said it had been "a vastly popular decision" and one of the few that largely achieved bipartisan support.
"Biden has accepted that while the US did achieve the early goals in Afghanistan, stabilising the situation completely was just never going to happen," he said.
Political minefields
While Mr Biden is enjoying solid approval ratings, Republicans have opposed his big ideas.
The president is relying on a razor-thin Democratic majority in Congress, and there's the risk midterm congressional elections next year could erase the party's slim advantage.
"One of the shortfalls he has been greatly criticised on is his failure to deliver on the promise of bipartisan support, but in many cases, this has not been possible," Professor Smith said.
Mr Biden still has to deal with the immigration situation on the Mexican border, while other challenging and sensitive issues he wants to tackle - including police brutality and gun control - are also ahead of him.
He has not delivered on a promise to commission reports on the Justice Department's gun oversight reforms or on failures within the background check program.
Professor Smith said that while the president has had a predominantly successful first 100 days, he worries he will face many roadblocks going forward.
"My concern is that while he has gotten a lot done, it will be harder to deliver on actual long-term policy change on matters that will be harder to pass through the Congress," Professor Smith said.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters.
