(NBC News) - In his first full day on the job, President Joe Biden followed through on a central promise of his campaign: Laying out a detailed pandemic battle plan.
"We'll move heaven and earth to get more people vaccinated - for free - and create more places for them to get vaccinated," Mr. Biden said.
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The president signed ten executive orders to dramatically ramp up vaccinations, expand testing, safely reopen schools and businesses, and mandate mask-wearing in airports, planes and trains.
The Biden team says it has to start from scratch on a vaccine distribution plan because the Trump administration didn't lay the groundwork.
President Biden is vowing to use the Defense Production Act to help reach the goal of 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days.
"We're in a national emergency. It's time we treated it like one," he said.
President Biden is pushing a nearly $2 trillion rescue package to pay for it all and extend more help to Americans after another 900,000 people filed first-time unemployment claims last week.
Republican leaders, meanwhile, are balking at the high price tag and the president's sweeping plans.
"He knows the agenda and those executive orders he is signing are partisan. That's dividing," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox News.
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