Katko pans Biden's executive orders, urges him to 'reject far-left demands'

Katko, R-Camillus, released a statement Friday evening in response to the 30 executive orders issued by Biden — actions the congressman says "codify far-left priorities which run counter to central New York's interests." 

A review of Biden's executive orders found that a majority of them focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The orders include a mask mandate for federal buildings and properties, speeding up vaccine production and reversing former President Donald Trump's push to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. 

But there were other orders that drew criticism from Katko, mainly those that focused on immigration policies adopted under Trump. Biden issued executive orders to preserve the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, which began under former President Barack Obama. Trump sought to end the program during his term. 

Katko supports keeping DACA in some form but believes that it should be part of a broader immigration reform package that includes border security measures. 

Biden also took action to stop the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border by ending the national emergency declared by Trump. While Katko supports building a wall along the southern border, he criticized Trump for using his executive authority to divert funds for the project. 

In 2019, Katko supported a House resolution that would end the national emergency. 

Biden signed an executive order that reversed Trump's controversial "Muslim ban," which initially targeted nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries but was revised to include certain individuals from other counties, including North Korea and Venezuela. A separate order reverses Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement efforts within the U.S. 

Katko criticized these orders as a "knee-jerk rollback of commonsense national security and immigration measures to secure our borders." 

But he also panned one of Biden's latest orders. On Friday, the president issued an order that aims to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors and workers to $15 an hour. It also endorses the idea of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour for all workers.

The federal minimum wage, which hasn't increased in more than a decade, is $7.25 an hour. Several states, including New York, have higher minimum wage rates. New York has been phasing in a $15-an-hour minimum wage for workers in New York City, on Long Island and in Westchester County. For the rest of the state, the minimum wage is up to $12.50 an hour. It could rise to $15 an hour over the next few years. 

Katko said a $15 federal minimum wage would "cripple our economy and the many local small businesses already struggling to survive during the pandemic." 

Throughout his presidential campaign, unity was a theme of Biden's campaign. That continued during his inaugural address on Wednesday. But Katko and other Republicans have questioned whether unity is a priority of the new administration. 

"I strongly encourage President Biden to reject demands from the far-left, refocus his agenda, and make good on his promise to unify," he said.