In the United States, President-elect Joe Biden told civil rights leaders in a private conference call Tuesday that he would use his executive authority to undo many of President Trump’s actions — but would not take executive action to implement a progressive agenda. In audio of the call leaked to The Intercept, Biden said using his executive powers to enact policies like a ban on assault rifles would be “way beyond the bounds” of his constitutional authority. Biden also asked civil rights leaders not to pursue campaigns to transform policing in the United States until after twin Senate runoff elections to be held in Georgia on January 5, which will determine the balance of power in the Senate.

President-elect Joe Biden: “They’ve already labeled us as being 'defund the police.' Anything we put forward in terms of the organizational structure to change policing, which I promise you will occur — promise you — just think to yourself and give me advice whether we should do that before January 5th, because that’s how they beat the living hell out of us across the country, saying that we’re talking about defunding the police. We’re not. We’re talking about holding them accountable.”