President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden signs executive actions in the Oval Office of the White House on January 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden signed a series of executive actions Thursday afternoon aimed at expanding access to health care, including re-opening enrollment for health care offered through the federal marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act. Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed two executive orders that focused on health care, describing his action as reversing "the damage" done by former President Donald Trump.

In brief remarks from the Oval Office, Biden said he was not initiating "any new law, any aspect of the law."

Biden noted that he was restoring the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid to the way before Donald Trump became president, CBS News reported.

Because by fiat, the president said Donald Trump made it "more inaccessible, more expensive and more difficult for people to qualify for either of those two items."

Biden Restores Health Care Initiatives

Through the executive actions, Biden ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to open a special enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through HealthCare.gov from Feb. 15 to May 15 to take new applications for subsidized benefits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. HealthCare.gov is a federally run health insurance marketplace.

Biden also instructed federal agencies to review existing policies under the Trump administration to make sure they do not hinder the public's access to health care.

The president's order also includes rescinding the Mexico City Policy, which cut federal funds to global organizations that offer abortion-related services.

Mexico City Policy Abolishment

The Mexico City Policy is known as the global gag rule. It prohibits U.S. dollars from flowing to international non-governmental organizations that provide abortions and advocate to legalize and expand abortion access or provide abortion counseling.

According to another CBS News report, the policy was first announced by former President Ronald Raegan in 1984 and has been revoked and reinstated by Democratic and Republican administrations, respectively. The Mexico City Policy was re-enacted and expanded under the Trump administration.

Biden's memorandum also orders the Department of Health and Human Services to review possibly dismantling a similar policy in the United States that hinders money from Title X from going to health care centers that provide abortion services.

Republican lawmakers criticized Biden's order in restoring federal funding for foreign abortions and abortion referrals, saying that abortion is murder.

"Let me be clear - abortion is murder, and the federal government should not support it let alone PAY for it," Rep. Ronny Jackson said in a Daily Mail report.

Jackson was also known to be the presidential physician of former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

The White House made no recent announcements about the provision, suggesting that Republicans are preemptively defending abortion-related actions they feel could come in the future of Biden's administration.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) said their members are dedicated to preserving the Hyde Amendment that prevents taxpayer money from being used for abortions of women in the U.S.

RSC said in a tweet that taxpayers should never be forced to fund abortion. Lawmakers known to protect the provision are GOP Representatives Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, and Kevin Brady and Ronny Jackson of Texas. It also includes Byron Donald and Greg Steube of Florida.

About 200 Republicans signed a letter saying that they will not vote for any legislation that would amend or throw out the Hyde Amendment.