During his 2020 US presidential campaign the Democratic candidate Joe Biden had some clear goals: expand access to health insurance, simplify the country’s notoriously complex healthcare system, cut the costs of prescription drugs, and expand access to abortion.1 Then covid-19 cast a shadow on the whole presidential race.
As Biden takes the oath of office on 20 January he faces the immediate challenge of dealing with the pandemic hurricane buffeting the US and reversing years of undercooked protection and prevention measures.
But he does have one thing on his side that he might not have expected at the beginning of the campaign: control of the US Senate, which the Democrats won in a closely fought 5 January election. With his party now in control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, Biden has a good chance of getting at least some of his agenda approved.