President Biden’s new administration continues to enact legislation at a breakneck pace.

As the administration of 46th President Joe Biden starts its first full week in control of the White House, legislation setting a new course for the country continues to be approved at a record rate. Among the actions carried out in just the last few days:

• Ramping up efforts to fight domestic terrorism. Bloomberg has reported that President Biden ordered the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines to work with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the threat from domestic violent extremism, especially examining its connection to the attempted insurrection at the Capitol. 
• Extending an existing nuclear treaty with Russia that was set to expire, which would continue efforts for disarmament within the country. The New York Times has reported that the Kremlin “welcomed the Biden administration’s offer to extend a nuclear disarmament treaty that is set to expire next month,” signaling an intention to cooperate with the United States on nuclear security. The Trump administration had resisted approving the five-year extension, the Times reported. 
• Renewing a focus on American industry and production. According to NPR, “Biden will create a new position in the White House’s budget office that will oversee the implementation of ‘Buy American’ provisions, and the president will direct a review of waivers granted for these rules.” The agency will also update criteria on how much of a product must be produced within the U.S. in order to be considered an “American” good. 
• Reversing the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals in the military. USA Today has reported that President Biden has implemented a policy that prohibits discrimination against all troops based on their gender identity. In a statement, the White House said: “Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more effective force. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do and is in our national interest.” 
• Replacing top leaders at the U.S.-run international news service, Voice of America. A number of controversial top officials within the organization who were considered by critics to be mouthpieces for Trump’s views and policies, including agency head Michael Pack, have been fired. Most were replaced with career employees who in some instances had spent decades working for the entity. 
• Restoring efforts to maintain government accountability. According to The New York Times, President Biden has “established ethics rules for those who serve in his administration that aim ‘to restore and maintain trust in the government.’” He has also ordered all of his appointees in the executive branch to sign an ethics pledge, the paper said. 
• Reinstating daily White House press briefings. Although the prior administration had largely abandoned regular talks with reporters, and famously went more than 90 days without an official briefing when former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was in place, NowThis has reported that the media is “gobsmacked” by the return of a working, functional White House press team. “Biden’s new press secretary is Jen Psaki, an Obama administration veteran, and she’s shocking and soothing some reporters and onlookers with her extreme … normalcy,” wrote reporter Ashleigh Carter.

The SAT — which for decades has disadvantaged Black and Brown students — may be headed for demise.

In a “Think” opinion column for NBC News, retired Temple University professor Peshe Kuriloff has predicted the upcoming downfall of the SAT. Although the test, which was previously a prerequisite for acceptance at most institutions, had already been losing influence in recent years (e.g., the University of California school system for one no longer requiring students to submit scores when they applied for admission), Kuriloff sees a future where the tests could become even less influential and important. In addition to more and more schools considering the tests optional, Kuriloff reported that the vast majority of schools have even gone one step further in the past year, setting aside the testing requirement entirely due to the pandemic, which had impeded students to gather and take the exams.