Busy in-tray awaits incoming US president Joe Biden

Altogether Mr Biden has laid out an ambitious if not always detailed set of plans and promises across the range of public policy.

The White House is seen from the Washington Monument (Jon Raedle/AP)

Joe Biden has given himself an imposing to-do list for his earliest days as president and many promises to keep over the longer haul.

Overshadowing everything at the very start is Mr Biden’s effort to win congressional approval of a 1.9 trillion US dollar plan to combat coronavirus and the economic misery it has caused.