The Biden-Harris Department of Homeland Security announced a new Disinformation Governance Board to combat “the spread of disinformation.” This followed a campaign promise from then-candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign to crack down on “misinformation and conspiracy theories.” The announcement itself offered few details about the purpose or powers of the board, which prompted serious concern that the Department of Homeland Security will be actively engaging in the suppression of free speech. These concerns were not assuaged by the news that the new Disinformation board would be led by Nina Jankowicz, a woman who had herself been accused of circulating false information when it came to her outspoken rejection of the Hunter Biden laptop story as “Russian disinformation.”
UPDATE: The Disinformation Governance Board and its working groups were “paused” on May 18, 2022 pending review, and Nina Jankowicz resigned her position as head of the board. On August 24, 2022, the board was formally terminated.
The Biden administration undid Trump-era rollbacks of environmental regulations, reimplementing core restrictions to an environmental law on infrastructure projects. The new rules would require federal agencies to conduct an analysis of the greenhouse gases that could be emitted over the lifetime of a proposed project.