Trump inauguration highlights: U.S. President takes charge for second term, signs flurry of executive orders

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in which he proposed further developing their strategic partnership just hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president. 

Mr. Putin waved at Mr. Xi and addressed Chairman Xi as his “dear friend”, saying he wanted to outline “new plans for the development of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.” 

“I agree with you that cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is based on a broad commonality of national interests and a convergence of views on what relations between major powers should be,” Mr. Putin told Mr. Xi.

“We build our ties on the basis of friendship, mutual trust and support, equality and mutual benefit. These connections are self-sufficient, independent of domestic political factors and the current global situation.” 

Reuters

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called Tuesday for the bloc to “deepen” ties with China and boost relations with India, while taking a “pragmatic” approach with Donald Trump’s combative new U.S. administration. 

In an opening address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ms. von der Leyen emphasised cooperation rather than confrontation with Mr. Trump, who has promised punitive import tariffs on key partners as part of his trade policy. 

“Our first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests, and be ready to negotiate,” the commission chief told the gathering of the world’s elites in Switzerland. 

“We will be pragmatic, but we will always stand by our principles,” said Ms. von der Leyen, stressing that Europe remained committed to the Paris climate agreement despite Mr. Trump’s order to withdraw the United States from the deal. 

AFP

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it regretted the decision by the new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump to withdraw the country from the UN agency.

“The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the organisation,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters. 

Read more on the decision here.

India should respond with equal measures if the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump imposes higher tariffs on domestic goods, trade experts say.

They noted that India has previously implemented retaliatory customs duties on several U.S. products, such as apples, in response to what it deemed “illegal” tariffs imposed by America on certain steel and aluminium products. 

In December last year, Mr. Trump has said India charges “a lot” of tariffs, reiterating his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation for what New Delhi will impose on the import of certain American products. 

Read the full story here.

Shares in some big European carmakers fell sharply on Tuesday on uncertainty over possible new tariffs after Donald Trump took office as U.S. President. 

European carmakers such as Stellantis and Volkswagen have facilities in Mexico which produce cars for the U.S. market. 

Tariff concerns also weighed on Spanish bank BBVA, which has Mexico as its biggest market. The stock fell 1.6% in Madrid as the Mexican peso weakened by more than 1% against the dollar. 

Read the story on tariffs here.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europe on Monday to “wake up” and spend more on defence in order to reduce its reliance on the United States for its security, in a speech to the French military as Donald Trump returns to power.

Mr. Macron referred to expected changes in Washington’s foreign policy, especially regarding the war in Ukraine, saying it was an “opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call,” in his New Year’s speech to the military at the Army Digital and Cyber Support Command based in western France. 

“What will we do in Europe tomorrow if our American ally withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean? If they send their fighter jets from the Atlantic to the Pacific?” he asked. 

Read the full story here.

Billionaire Elon Musk sparked controversy Monday after making a gesture at an event celebrating U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with some calling it a “Nazi” or “fascist” movement. 

The X, SpaceX and Tesla chief appeared on stage at the Capital One Arena in Washington, where supporters of the newly inaugurated president had gathered for a rally.

Upon thanking the crowd for returning the 78-year-old Republican to the White House, Mr. Musk tapped the left side of his chest with his right hand and then extended his arm with his palm open, repeating the gesture for the crowd seated behind him. 

The U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement will weaken global efforts to mitigate climate change, and the worst consequences will be felt in developing countries that have contributed the least to global emissions, experts said on Tuesday. 

This places the U.S. alongside Iran, Libya, and Yemen as the only countries not part of the 2015 global climate accord, which aims to limit global warming since the industrial revolution to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

Mr. Trump initially announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 2017 during his first term, a move reversed by the Joe Biden administration in early 2021. In the run-up to the 2024 U.S. elections, Mr. Trump repeatedly referred to climate change as a “hoax” and reiterated his intention to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. 

Read more on the withdrawal here.

China said Tuesday that newly inaugurated President Donald Trump’s reinstatement of Cuba to a list of state sponsors of terrorism was a demonstration of U.S. “bullying”.

Washington’s repeated use of the list “runs counter to facts… [and] fully reveals the hegemonic, high-handed and bullying face of the United States”, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

– AFP

Asian markets saw big fluctuations as Donald Trump took office warning he could impose stiff tariffs on Canada and Mexico next month but appeared to delay any action against China for now.

The new U.S. President’s announcement that the country’s closest neighbours could be hit with 25% levies as soon as February 1 also jolted currency markets, with the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar tumbling.

– AFP

President Donald Trump said he plans to remove over 1,000 appointees from the administration of former President Joe Biden, announcing four dismissals on social media, including celebrity chef Jose Andres and former top general Mark Milley.

“My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social just after midnight.

The step is likely to reignite concerns that the president aims to replace Biden appointees with individuals faithful to his agenda.

– Reuters

President Donald Trump has begun his promised flurry of executive action on Day 1.

With his opening rounds of memoranda and executive orders, Trump repealed dozens of former President Joe Biden’s actions, began his immigration crackdown, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords and sought to keep TikTok open in the US, among other actions. He pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Here’s a look at some of Trump’s initial actions and upcoming plans: 

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he would have chosen Usha Chilukuri Vance, J.D. Vance’s wife, as his Vice President as “she is smarter but the line of succession did not work that way”.

Usha, 39, on Monday, became the first Indian-American and Hindu Second Lady after her husband J.D. was sworn in as the 50th Vice President of the U.S.

Read more on this here…

Carrie Underwood might not be Beyoncé or Garth Brooks in the celebrity superstar ecosystem. But the singer’s participation in U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is nevertheless a sign of the changing tides, where mainstream entertainers, from Nelly to The Village People are more enthusiastically associating with the new administration.

Read more on this here…

There’s no place like home. And for Donald Trump, home is back in the White House after four tumultuous years.

“What a great feeling,” Trump told reporters when asked how it felt to be back in the Oval Office on Monday. “One of the better feelings I’ve ever had.”

Trump acted as if he’d never left. Nor was there any mention of how he had left in disgrace after his supporters attacked the US Capitol in January 2021 trying to overturn his election defeat to Joe Biden.

Instead, the 78-year-old launched straight into an impromptu, 50-minute press conference in the symbolic heart of the US presidency.

But if it all felt familiar to the Republican billionaire, that was largely thanks to the work of an army of White House staff.

They had only around five hours to erase every trace of his Democratic predecessor and create Trump’s Oval Office 2.0.

– AFP

Immigrant and civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against a birthright citizenship executive order signed by Republican U.S. President Donald Trump after taking office on Monday.

“Immigrants’ rights advocates today sued the Trump administration over its executive order that seeks to strip certain babies born in the United States of their U.S. citizenship,” the advocates said in a statement that called the order unconstitutional.

– Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday congratulated Donald Trump on his return to the White House and said he wanted to build a “relationship of trust”.

Japan and the United States are key defence allies and each other’s top foreign investors, but businesses and diplomats are bracing themselves for potential changes under Trump.

During his first term Trump had pressed US allies to increase defence spending, and this time has threatened them with trade tariffs.

Ishiba told reporters that it appears the new US president “prefers bilateral frameworks over multilateral frameworks” for dealmaking.

– AFP

Billionaire Elon Musk sparked controversy after making a gesture at an event celebrating US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with some calling it a “Nazi” or “fascist” movement.

The X, SpaceX and Tesla chief appeared on stage at the Capital One Arena in Washington, where supporters of the newly inaugurated president had gathered for a rally.

Read more on this here…

President Donald Trump suspended new federal offshore wind leasing pending an environmental and economic review, saying wind mills are ugly, expensive and harm wildlife.

“We’re not going to do the wind thing. Big, ugly wind mills. They ruin your neighborhood,” he said.

Without providing evidence, he said offshore wind projects were behind an increase in whale deaths off the U.S. East Coast in recent years.

He added: “They’re the most expensive form of energy that you can have, by far. And they kill your birds and they ruin your beautiful landscapes.”

– Reuters

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily suspending all US foreign assistance programmes for 90 days pending reviews to determine whether they are aligned with his policy goals.

It was not immediately clear how much assistance would initially be affected by the order as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by Congress and is obligated to be spent, if not already spent.

The order, among many Trump signed on his first day back in office, said the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values” and “serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.” Consequently, Trump declared that “no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing last week that “every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: “Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?” he said.

– AP

President Donald Trump said Monday he believed Denmark would “come along” on his plans to purchase Greenland, after he refused to rule out military intervention to bring the territory under US control.

“Greenland is a wonderful place, we need it for international security. I’m sure that Denmark will come along,” Trump told reporters on his return to the Oval Office.

– AFP

US President Donald Trump on Monday promptly reversed Joe Biden’s decision to remove Cuba from a blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, announced days earlier as part of a deal to free prisoners.

The White House in a statement hours after the inauguration said that Trump rescinded his predecessor’s decision on Cuba along with a long series of executive orders.

– AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday took aim at electric vehicles, revoking a 2021 executive order signed by his predecessor Joe Biden that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the United States by 2030 were electric.

Biden’s 50% target, which was not legally binding, had won the support of U.S. and foreign automakers.

Trump said in an executive order he was halting distribution of unspent government funds for vehicle charging stations from a $5 billion fund, called for ending a waiver for states to adopt zero emission vehicle rules by 2035 and said his administration would consider ending EV tax credits.

– Reuters

The dollar rebounded in choppy Asian trade on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the United States could impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico in the near future, though details were lacking.

Trump was quoted saying his team was thinking of tariffs around 25% which could be announced on Feb. 1, but offered no other specifics.

The comments came as a surprise given officials had earlier signalled any new taxes would be imposed in a “measured” way, a major relief for trade-exposed currencies. A following memo merely directed agencies to investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits.

A tariff of “25% looks high as a starter, and markets reacted quickly, especially in FX”, said Shoki Omori, chief global desk strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

– Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order to delay a ban of popular short-video app TikTok that was slated to be shuttered on Jan. 19.

When asked what TikTok order does, Trump said “just gave me the right to sell it or close it”….”and we’ll make that determination”.

– Reuters

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order hours after his inauguration for the United States to exit the World Health Organization, which he had previously attacked over its Covid response.

Signing the order at the White House, Trump said the United States was unfairly paying less than China into the UN body and added: “World Health ripped us off.”

– AFP

President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to enact 25 percent tariffs on major US trading partners Mexico and Canada on February 1, speaking on his first day back in the White House.

“We’re thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people — Canada’s a very bad abuser also — vast numbers of people to come in, and fentanyl to come in,” he said in the Oval Office.

– AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is not confident in the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began on Sunday.

Trump made the comments while signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on the first day of his second term as president.

– Reuters

Republican U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that he said was aimed at “restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship.”

Trump and his Republican allies had accused the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden of encouraging suppression of free speech on online platforms.

Democrats say they urged tech platforms to combat misinformation and disinformation online, particularly on issues like vaccines and elections, while some rights experts have also raised concerns about the spread of online hate speech, particularly against minority groups.

– Reuters

Donald Trump issued pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, one of his first acts after being sworn in as the country’s 47th president on Monday.

The pardons fulfill Trump’s promise to release supporters who tried to help him overturn his election defeat four years ago.

“These are the hostages,” he said while signing the paperwork in the Oval Office.

– AP

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday repealing a 2023 memo from former President Joe Biden that barred oil drilling in some 16 million acres in the Arctic, the White House announced.

Trump repealed dozens of actions taken by Biden, including the oil drilling ban, in his first day in office. 

– Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on far-right Israeli settler groups and individuals for allegedly committing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the new White House website said.

The website said Trump rescinded Executive Order 14115 issued on Feb. 1, 2024, which authorized the imposition of certain sanctions “on Persons Undermining Peace, Security, and Stability in the West Bank.”

– Reuters

Fresh off President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Senate on Monday (January 20, 2025) passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, the first measure he likely will sign into law and giving more weight to his plans to deport millions of migrants. 

“We don’t want criminals coming into our country,” Mr. Trump told supporters at the Capitol, adding he looked forward to holding a bill signing “within a week or so.”

Click here to read more…

The US Senate unanimously approved Marco Rubio as secretary of state, putting the fellow senator popular with his peers in the frontline of President Donald Trump’s often confrontational diplomacy.

Mr. Rubio, who is the first Hispanic and first fluent Spanish speaker to assume the position of top U.S. diplomat, is Trump’s first Cabinet nominee to be confirmed by the Senate. – AFP

Senators returned to the Capitol Monday for a late-evening session pushing ahead on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, with voting possible to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio as the nation’s secretary of state on Inauguration Day.

Mr. Rubio is among the least controversial of Trump’s nominees and the Florida Republican could be the first to be confirmed. Another pick, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defence secretary, is expected later in the week. – AP

President Donald Trump has named an acting defence secretary because his choice to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate.

Robert Salesses, deputy director of the Pentagon’s Washington Headquarters Service, will fill in as acting secretary of defence, and three other career Defence Department civilians will be filling in as acting heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

To serve in the posts, the incoming Trump administration needed senior executives at the Pentagon who had already been confirmed by the Senate. Salesses is a retired Marine who served in the Gulf War and earned a Bronze Star.

He has been leading the Washington Headquarters Service, which includes all of the capital region support services, including facilities management and the office of general counsel and others that support the military branches and Pentagon leadership.

-AP

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to lift the Biden administration’s freeze on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in his first days in office, Walla News reported on Monday, citing an interview with the Israeli envoy to Washington.

Trump is also expected to reverse sanctions the Biden administration imposed against Israeli settlers accused of violent attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog told Walla News.

-Reuters

Trump is now leaving the Capitol. He’s expected to head next to the inaugural parade at Capital One Arena.

Supporters have been there all day, watching video of the swearing-in and other events.

Trump is following the traditional inaugural playbook with a formal review of military troops.

The pass in review is an inspection of troops and a traditional ceremony that usually occurs on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. But, like the rest of the day’s festivities, it was also forced inside by low temperatures.

Trump and Vance watched the ceremony from a makeshift stage with a red carpet. Later, Trump moved closer to the troops with his wife, Melania.

The first couple held hands while “Hail to the Chief” played.

-AP

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas congratulated US President Donald Trump on his inauguration on Monday and said he was ready to work for peace with Israel based on a two-state solution.

“We are ready to work with you to achieve peace during your term, based on a two-state solution,” Abbas said in a statement published by the official Wafa news agency.

Abbas said it would mean “the State of Palestine and the State of Israel living side-by-side in security and peace, ensuring security and stability in our region and the world”.

-AP

Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said on Monday that if the United States wanted to study bilateral trade ties rather than impose tariffs, that would be a positive step.

LeBlanc made his comments to reporters ahead of a cabinet retreat to discuss relations with the United States.

A U.S. official earlier said President Donald Trump would issue a broad trade memo on Monday that stops short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office.

-Reuters

Trump is shaking hands, posing for photos and chatting as he prepares to make his way out of National Statuary Hall.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday named a number of acting leaders to oversee the Treasury Department and financial regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

David Lebryk will lead Treasury, while Travis Hill will chair the FDIC and Mark Uyeda will temporarily lead the SEC, according to statements released by the White House ahead of the Senate’s review of his permanent nominees.

-Reuters

A government health website that offers birth control and emergency abortion guidance appears to have been disabled after Trump took office.

The website, reproductiverights.gov, was launched by the Biden administration in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn national abortion rights. It detailed ways in which women could obtain birth control, abortion pills and emergency abortions.

The Biden administration had argued hospitals, even in states with strict abortion bans, should be required to provide emergency abortions for women with serious pregnancy complications like placental abruptions, ectopic pregnancies or incomplete miscarriages.

-AP

The text of Trump’s order on the U.S. flag says it will be lowered “upon the end of this Inauguration Day” for the remainder of the 30-day period honoring the memory of the late former President Jimmy Carter, or through Jan. 28.

-AP

As Trump promised mass deportations in his inaugural address and following remarks, hundreds of people marched in protest of Trump’s immigration policies near the U.S. embassy in Mexico City.

A group of about 50 people gathered ahead outside the embassy ahead of the march. One held balloons that said in Spanish “Borders don’t exist.” A protester also burned a piñata that looked like Trump while another wore a hoodie labeled SB 4, referring to the stalled Texas immigration law.

-AP

Immigration attorney James McHenry will serve as acting U.S. attorney general, until President Donald Trump’s pick, Pam Bondi, can be confirmed by the Seante, a Justice Department official said on Monday.

Trump’s former defense attorney Emil Bove will serve as acting attorney general, the official said.

-Reuters

President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to rename North America’s tallest peak, Denali in Alaska, as Mount McKinley — reviving an idea he floated years ago that at that time saw strong pushback from state political leaders.

Trump, who took office for a second time Monday, said he planned to “restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs. President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent.” Trump also announced plans to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Messages left for Alaska’s three-member Republican congressional delegation and Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy weren’t immediately returned. Alaska’s U.S. senators in 2017 vehemently opposed a prior suggestion by Trump that the name Denali be changed back to Mount McKinley.

-AP

Musk pumped his fists as he spoke at the Inauguration Day viewing party at Capital One arena.

He celebrated Trump’s victory, calling it “really important” and highlighting the new president’s promise to plant the U.S. flag on Mars — a longtime goal of Musk’s.

“I’m going to work my a— off for you guys,” Musk said in the short speech.

The UN climate chief said Monday the “door remains open” to the landmark Paris accord after US President Donald Trump vowed to pull his country out of it for the second time.

“The door remains open to the Paris Agreement, and we welcome constructive engagement from any and all countries,” UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said in a statement, insisting the clean energy transition was an opportunity for economic growth.

-AFP

Vice President Vance, Speaker Johnson, Senator Thune, Chief Justice Roberts, justices of the United States Supreme Court, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, President Biden, Vice President Harris and my fellow citizens:

The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation. And we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.

Read Donald Trump’s full inauguration speech here

The room is full of powerful people, including lawmakers, tech titans and Supreme Court justices.

Klobuchar spoke at the start of the event in National Statuary Hall.

The large painting behind them is called “American Horizon,” she said, and marks the first time the event has featured a work by a woman artist.

-AP

Where in the world is Melania Trump? Back in Washington in a sharply tailored outfit that exudes international woman of mystery as her husband once again becomes president of the United States.

Wearing a long navy coat and matching wide-brimmed hat — which shielded her eyes in most photos and hindered her commander-in-chief husband’s attempts to give her a peck before his swearing-in — Melania’s fit drew snark on social media and a flurry of comparisons to a 1980s video game character.

Melania Trump’s coat and skirt were silk wool Adam Lippes, an independent American designer based in New York, an ensemble paired with an ivory blouse tightly wrapped at the Slovenian-born former model’s neck.

-AFP

Flanked by members of Congress from both parties, Trump sat in a high-backed red chair at an ornate desk and began affixing his signature to documents. One act was related to Cabinet duties while another directed that U.S. flags be flown at full staff on Inauguration Day.

Trump had bristled at the idea of flags flying at half-staff, as directed by Biden, for 30 days to honour the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

Carter died late last month. 

-AP

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said on X on Monday that the Panama Canal “is and will continue to be Panamanian,” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about taking back the canal.

-Reuters

Trump is joking about his wife’s large hat, saying that she nearly blew away earlier when the two stepped outside to see Biden off.

“She almost blew away,” Trump said with a laugh, joking that, “She was being elevated off the ground.”

First lady Melania Trump visibly struggled to keep the hat on her head amid wind gusts and the force of the military helicopter that carried Biden from the Capitol.

-AP

The dollar took a dive on Monday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was quoted as saying he will not impose trade tariffs straight after his inauguration, which is set to take place later in the session.

Trump will issue a broad trade memo on Monday that stops short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. An official for the incoming administration confirmed the report.

Market participants had been expecting Trump to announce trade tariffs via executive orders. Such a move would have increased expectations for a large-scale campaign, rising inflation and higher-for-longer Federal Reserve policy rates.

“Markets seem to be taking comfort from a headline suggesting that day-one Trump tariffs are off the table. That said, we think this confidence might be a little misplaced. Broad based day-one tariffs were always unlikely, but more targeted import levies shortly after inauguration day are another question,” Monex Europe head of macro research Nick Rees said.”

-Reuters

The White House website had a new look with the bold banner headline “America is back” seconds after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday.

“Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America,” is the message with a signature from Trump, 78, on the front page of the White House website.

The social media accounts of the White House – X, Facebook and Instagram – also had a new look.

The Trump administration Monday (January 20, 2025) ended use of a border app called CBP One that has allowed nearly 1 million people to legally enter the United States with eligibility to work.

A notice on the website of Customs and Border Protection on Monday just after Mr. Trump was sworn in let users know that the app that had been used to allow migrants to schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available. The notice said that existing appointments have been cancelled.

Read the full story here

It’s where rows of National Guard troops took their rest on the hard floors in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Trump is reviving false claims about the House’s Jan. 6 committee that investigated the attack and complaining about Biden’s last-minute pardons for the committee members and staff.

Trump says he decided not to mention the people who have been jailed for their roles in the violent insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, during his inaugural speech but is talking about them now during freewheeling remarks at the visitor center.

“I was going to talk about the J6 hostages,” said Trump, who has vowed to pardon those involved in the violence, whom he refers to as “hostages.”

He says that action, not words, are what matter, adding: “You’re going to see a lot of action.”

-AP

US President Donald Trump has “America First” as his priorities and this includes making America safe again, making the country affordable, achieving energy dominance, draining the swamp and bringing back American values, the White House said on Monday.

Minutes after Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, the White House said he would take bold action to secure the border and protect American communities. This includes ending Biden’s catch-and-release policies, reinstating Remain in Mexico, building the wall, ending asylum for illegal border crossers, cracking down on criminal sanctuaries, and enhancing vetting and screening of aliens.

“Trump’s deportation operation will address the record border crossings of criminal aliens under the prior administration. The President is suspending refugee resettlement, after communities were forced to house large and unsustainable populations of migrants, straining community safety and resources,” it said.

-PTI

President Donald Trump has named an acting defense secretary because his choice to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate.

Robert G. Salesses, deputy director of the Pentagon’s Washington Headquarters Service, will fill in, two defense officials said on the condition of anonymity to discuss an announcement that was not yet public.

The service includes all of the capitol region support services, including facilities management and the office of general counsel and others that support the military branches and Pentagon leadership. Salesses served as a Marine in the Gulf War, earning a Bronze Star.

The appointment was first reported by NBC.

-AP

President Donald Trump will sign executive orders Monday rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government in what he described in his inauguration speech as a move to end efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

Both are major shifts for the federal policy and are in line with Trump’s campaign promises.

One order would declare that the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female.

The definition will be based on whether people are born with eggs or sperm, rather than on their chromosomes. The change is being pitched as a way to protect women from “gender extremism.”

-AP

President Donald Trump will once again withdraw the United States from the Paris climate deal, the White House said on Monday (January 20, 2025), removing the world’s biggest historic emitter from global efforts to fight climate change for the second time in a decade.

The decision would place the United States alongside Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries in the world outside the 2015 pact, in which governments agreed to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The announcement, in a document from the White House, reflects Mr. Trump’s skepticism about global warming, which he has called a hoax, and fits in with his broader agenda to unfetter U.S. oil and gas drillers from regulation so they can maximize output.

Read the full story here

Joe Biden is boarding a helicopter that will carry him into his post-presidency life — but the aircraft carrying him is no longer known as Marine One.

Since Biden is now a former president, he and his wife Jill boarded a chopper technically known as “Nighthawk 46” despite still having the presidential seal.

The Bidens were flying to a farewell ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, then flying to California.

The California flight will be Special Air Mission 46.

Trump, who hadn’t yet taken office then, flew on Saturday from Florida to Washington aboard a plane with presidential markings that was known as Special Air Mission 47

-AP

President Donald Trump’s second inaugural address featured similar themes to his first: a sweeping indictment of the country he inherits and grand promises to fix its problems.

Eight years ago, Mr. Trump described “American carnage” and promised to end it immediately. On Monday (January 20, 2025), he declared that the country’s “decline” will end immediately, ushering in “the golden age of America.” Mr. Trump added a long list of policies that sounded more like a State of the Union speech than an Inauguration Day speech. But the broad themes were fundamentally Trumpian, setting himself up as a national saviour.

Breaking tradition, the Republican President delivered his remarks from inside the Capitol Rotunda due to the bitter cold outside. He spoke to several hundred elected officials and pro-Trump VIPs, tech titan Elon Musk among them.

Read the full story here

He and his wife, Jill, boarded a military helicopter on the grounds of the Capitol after Trump was sworn into office.

Biden is going to Joint Base Andrews for a farewell ceremony with now-former members of his staff.

He’ll then fly aboard a military airplane to Santa Ynez, California, to unwind with his family.

-AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi were among those wishing Trump well in his new term in the White House.

Netanyahu predicted “the best days of our alliance are yet to come,” even as he hailed actions Trump took in his first term, including moving the American embassy to Jerusalem.

El-Sissi said he’d work with Trump to enhance their countries’ relationship.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labor government has been under attack by Elon Musk and other Trump allies, also sent his “warmest congratulations.”

-AP

President Trump, VP Vance, and the first and Second Lady have departed.

Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris have also left.

The Trump family is waiting for the remaining former presidents to leave the platform before they are escorted out

-AP

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is confident that U.S. cities, states and businesses will continue to work for low-carbon, resilient economic growth after U.S. President Donald Trump quits the Paris climate deal, a U.N. spokesperson said on Monday.

“It is crucial that the United States remains a leader on environmental issues,” said associate U.N. spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino. “The collective efforts under the Paris Agreement have made a difference but we need to go much further and faster together.” 

-Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States would take back the Panama Canal, but he gave no further detail in his inaugural address after being sworn in.

He said the waterway should have never been given away and said that “American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly,” and repeated that “China is operating the Panama Canal.” Earlier this month, he said he would not rule out military force to take control of it.

Donald Trump hailed the dawn of a “golden age” for the United States as he was sworn in as the country’s 47th President on Monday (January 20, 2025).

“The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” he said.

Mr. Trump was sworn in as the 47th president, promising a “revolution of common sense” and taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.

Read the full story here

A coalition of veterans, public health professionals, teachers, consumer advocates and watchdog groups has filed a legal challenge in federal court against Trump’s special commission on promoting government efficiency.

The lawsuit was filed just after Trump’s swearing-in. It seeks an injunction against the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The suit charges that Trump is operating the group without complying with federal transparency laws, and argues that the activities of private commissions must be made public.

Trump mentioned DOGE, which is being headed by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in his inauguration speech.

-AP

President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday announced the United States’ intention to withdraw from the Paris climate accord for a second time, marking a defiant rejection of global efforts to combat planetary warming as catastrophic weather events intensify worldwide.

“President Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord,” the White House said in a statement shortly after the Republican was sworn into office.

-AFP

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday he hoped for a “good transatlantic relationship” with Germany’s “closest ally” the United States during Donald Trump’s second term as president.

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed Monday to revamp US trade, promising tariffs and taxes on other countries to aid Americans, in an inaugural address as he took office as 47th president of his country.

“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families,” he said. “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”

-AFP

Trump says he wants to send American astronauts to Mars, saying he “will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars” and “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.”

Billionaire Elon Musk of SpaceX threw his hands up in the air as Trump announced the U.S. would plant its flag on Mars.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday congratulated the U.S. leader Donald Trump on his inauguration, saying he was looking forward to “active and mutually beneficial cooperation”.

Trump said “all illegal entry will immediately be halted,” with few details on how he will achieve that. He said he would end the practice of releasing migrants in the United States to pursue asylum, known as “catch-and-release,” but didn’t say how he would pay for the enormous costs of detention.

Part of his plan relies on resuming the “Remain in Mexico” policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, a hallmark of his first term. The Mexican government has agreed, signaling perhaps one of the most concrete and immediate changes that will be seen at the border.

Trump said little about his plans for mass deportation, saying only that he would deport “millions and millions of criminal aliens.”

-AP

Donald Trump said Monday that he was “saved by God to make America great again,” during his inaugural address as the 47th president of the United States.

“I was saved by God for a reason,” he said during the speech at the US Capitol, referring to an assassination attempt against him on the campaign trail. “I was saved by God to make America great again.”

-AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated US President Donald Trump on his inauguration Monday, telling him in a video message the “best days of our alliance are yet to come”.

Praising Trump’s pro-Israel policies during his first term, Netanyahu said: “I believe that working together again we will raise the U.S.-Israel alliance to even greater heights.”

-AFP

Trump vowed to “defeat what was record inflation.”

Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden’s presidency from a low of 0.1% in May 2020. The most recent data shows that as of December it had fallen to 2.9%.

But other historical periods have seen higher inflation, such as a more than 14% rate in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve.

-AP

1. Several on immigration, including declaring a national emergency at southern border, reinstating the “remain in Mexico” policy and sending troops to the southern border.

2. Seeking a broad government effort to reduce inflation and reduce prices.

3. Declaring a “national energy emergency” and allowing for more energy production.

4. Ending what he has called an “electric vehicle mandate.”

-AP

In his inaugural address, Trump repeated a line he usually brought up during his campaign, saying that immigrants arriving in the country illegally come from prisons and mental institutions.

There is no evidence countries are sending their criminals or mentally ill across the border.

-AP

The speech Trump is delivering sounds a lot like his rally speeches, with plenty of grievance, including references to those who tried to “take my freedom” and the “weaponization of our Justice Department.”

Trump, after leaving office, became the first former president to be indicted, convicted and sentenced. But he has long tried to cast his many investigations as politically motivated.

-AP

Trump marked the fact that his inauguration is occurring on Martin Luther King Jr. Day., saying in his speech that his administration will “strive together to make his dream a reality.”

“We will make his dream come true,” Trump vowed of the Rev. King.

-AP

Trump referred to the assassination attempt against him, saying he was “saved by God to make America great again,” drawing a standing ovation from Republicans in the room while Democrats, including Biden and Harris, remained seated and still.

Trump says the election has given him “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal” he says has taken place, “and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom. From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”

-AP

Speaking just feet from former Biden, Trump is delivering a forceful critique of the federal government, which he says “cannot manage even a simple crisis at home.”

He cites the wildfires in California and flooding in North Carolina, crises about which he has repeatedly spread incorrect claims. He also points to “a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad” and illegal immigration.

-AP

Trump’s family surrounds him after his swearing-in.

He kisses his wife, Melania, on the cheek — this time making it past the brim of her hat.

-AP

Donald Trump takes oath of office as nation’s 47th president promising ‘revolution of common sense’ 

Chief Justice John Roberts has sworn in Trump for a second term as President. 

Vance’s wife, Usha, and their three young children were at his side.

President-elect Donald Trump plans to use his own Bible, which was given to him by his mother, and the Lincoln Bible for his swearing-in ceremony.

The Lincoln Bible was provided during Lincoln’s 1861 inauguration by William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court. That’s because Lincoln’s family Bible was still packed and on its way to Washington from Springfield, Illinois, along with the Lincoln family’s other belongings.

-AP

The staff of the White House residence starts the work of moving out one president and preparing the mansion for a new president as soon as the outgoing and incoming presidents leave for the inauguration at the Capitol.

They have about five hours to do it.

The White House chief usher is the staff person who oversees the process and will have worked with Melania Trump to coordinate the move. One former White House usher describes the process as “organized chaos.”

-AP

While reciting the presidential oath of office is mandated by the Constitution, using a Bible isn’t.

Theodore Roosevelt didn’t use one when he was sworn in following the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. John Quincy Adams used a law text for his 1825 inauguration.

And, sworn in aboard Air Force One after John Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson used a Catholic missal.

Also, who holds the Bible during the inaugural ceremony isn’t spelled out. Lady Bird Johnson set a tradition that has continued until today when she became the first incoming-first lady to hold the Bible for her husband Lyndon’s second inauguration in January 1965.

Prior to that, the Bibles were often held by an unknown official — people not easily identified in historical photographs.

-AP

Donald Trump will designate a Venezuelan criminal gang as “global terrorists,” an incoming administration official told reporters Monday, as part of the US president-elect’s fight against illegal immigration into the United States.

Citing Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and Salvadoran gang MS-13, the official said the incoming administration would designate the criminal cartels and other entities as both multinational organizations and global terrorists.

“This invasion has caused widespread chaos and suffering in our country over the last four years,” the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

-AFP

A group of Proud Boys carrying pro-Trump signs and anti-antifa marched on the streets in Washington as Trump prepared for the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda.

The extremist group was known for street fights with anti-fascist activists when Trump infamously told them to “stand back and stand by” during his first debate in 2020 with Biden.

Dozens of Proud Boys leaders, members and associates have been convicted and sentenced to prison in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. It’s unclear whether any might receive pardons promised by Trump.

-AP

US Vice Preisdent-elect JD Vance arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / POOL / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europe Monday to “wake up” and spend more on defense, in a speech to the French military as Donald Trump returns to power.

Macron referred to expected changes in Washington’s foreign policies especially regarding the war in Ukraine and said this is an “opportunity for a European strategic wake-up call.”

“What will we do in Europe tomorrow if our American ally withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean? If they send their fighter jets from the Atlantic to the Pacific?” he asked.

Trump has criticized the cost of the war in Ukraine for U.S. taxpayers through major military aid packages and vowed to bring the conflict to a swift end. He also has made it clear that he wants to shift more of the burden of Ukraine onto Europe.

-AP

While former Vice President Mike Pence is in attendance at Trump’s inauguration, his wife, former second lady Karen, is not.

Karen Pence snubbed the Trumps earlier this month at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, where she ignored Melania Trump’s efforts to shake her hand.

Michelle Obama also chose not to attend.

-AP

Dan Quayle and Mike Pence arrived on the platform with a standing ovation from members of both the House and Senate.

-AP

Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will be sworn in as the 47th president Monday, taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.

Mr. Trump will act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.

He plans to declare the beginning of “a thrilling new era of national success” as “a tide of change is sweeping the country,” according to excerpts of his inaugural address.

Read the full story here

Vocal Trump ally Elon Musk, the owner of Telsa and the social platform X, was seen along with Google’s Sundar Pichai and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos.

Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook were also in the audience.

The capacity shrunk significantly when the ceremony was moved indoors due to cold temperatures.

Musk has also been tapped by Trump to help lead an outside government group called the Department of Government Efficiency to slash bureaucracy.

-AP

Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni are in the Rotunda. Trump broke with precedent by inviting foreign leaders to attend his inauguration.

-AP

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President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump walk out to the presidential limosine, as they depart the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, enroute to the Capitol. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Asked how he felt today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Feel great about the Bills.”

The New Yorker had a royal blue cap in hand.

The House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said it’s “bright, sunny outside and bright in our heart.” Johnson said he expects “a lot” of executive orders from Trump.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries smiled and waved but declined comment.

“Feel great,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

-AP

They left the White House after spending about 35 minutes in a private meeting.

They got into a limo for the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony. It’s now less than two hours away.

-AP

First lady Jill Biden and incoming first lady Melania Trump have left the White House.

They were followed by Vice President Kamala Harris and Vice President-elect JD Vance, who left in a limo for the swearing-in at the Capitol.

“Very well, thank you,” Harris replied to a shouted question as she left the White House and headed to a waiting limo.

-AP

Flags that had been lowered for the passing of former President Jimmy Carter are back up at the U.S. Capitol.

House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the flags raised for Trump’s inauguration.

-AP

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff has exited the White House with Usha Vance, wife of vice president-elect JD Vance, to go to the Capitol.

-AP

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It’s the fifth inauguration for Roberts, who swore in Barack Obama twice, Joe Biden once and now will stand opposite Trump for a second time.

In the first inaugural ceremony for both men, in 2009, Roberts and Obama combined to flub the constitutionally prescribed oath, then met at the White House for a rare do-over — just to be safe.

-AP

Among the first people high-ranking officials to arrive at the Capitol Rotunda on Monday was Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is sitting on the platform where Trump will take his oath.

Current and former House and Senate leaders also arrived, including former Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his wife former Trump Cabinet member Elaine Chao.

-AP

Kavanaugh has known Vance and his wife, Usha, since their days at Yale Law School.

Vance was among Kavanaugh’s students in a law school seminar in 2011. He later employed Usha Vance as a law clerk when Kavanaugh was a judge on the federal appeals court in Washington.

She went on to serve as a clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts.

-AP

Arnault, who heads the LVMH fashion empire and is France’s richest man, was sitting a few rows back and to the left of Trump and his wife, Melania, wearing a dark suit and tie.

LVMH’s many brands include Louis Vuitton and Dior, and its influence and Arnault’s wealth make the lowkey billionaire a powerful figure.

LVMH had a stellar year in France last year, especially as a high-profile sponsor of the Paris Olympics. Arnault also was a key donor toward the reconstruction of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral after its fire in 2019 and attended the monument’s reopening — along with Trump — last December. 

-AP

It’s become tradition for the outgoing president to write a letter to his successor and leave it in the drawer of the Oval Office desk for the new president to find.

Biden declined to say what he said in the note. Trump wrote Biden a note four years ago.

-AP

The move came after a Hochul spokesperson said last week that flags would remain at half-staff following the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

Flags will be returned to half staff on Tuesday, Hochul said in a statement.

“Regardless of your political views, the American tradition of the peaceful transition of power is something to celebrate,” said Hochul, a Democrat.

-AP

They met the Bidens on a gold-trimmed red carpet, exchanging greetings and posing for photos ahead of a private meeting over tea and coffee.

“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car.

Biden wrapped his hand around Trump’s upper arm to escort him inside the mansion.

-AP

Chesapeake Crab Cake, Greater Omaha Angus Ribeye Steak and wine from Monticello are on the menu for the inaugural luncheon.

That’s according to the joint congressional committee on inauguration ceremonies headed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

It says the luncheon after the swearing-in ceremony is the 11th to be held at the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall, and will include more than 200 guests including the president, vice president, family, U.S. Supreme Court justices, Cabinet Member-designees and members of Congressional leadership.

For dessert, there’s Minnesota Apple Ice Box Terrine with sour cream ice cream and salted caramel.

-AP

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Combined Choirs kicked off the inaugural ceremonies Monday with a musical prelude. The students wore all black with a red scarf embossed with their university logo.

Their voices echoed into the Capitol dome where in just a few hours Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President.

Outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris greeted the vice president-elect when he arrived.

Usually, only the president-elect comes to the White House on Inauguration Day before the swearing-in.

Harris and Vance were accompanied by their spouses and all shook hands and posed for a picture.

One of the first executive orders U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to sign as president will be aimed at establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Semafor reported on Monday citing a fact sheet.

The department’s work will include updating federal software systems to “private-sector standards,” with the work being slated to begin with a focus on modernizing information technology across the government, Semafor said.

The department will “oversee a substantial reduction in the size and scope of government” and operate “within” the U.S. government, Semafor reported citing the fact sheet.”DOGE will work with the Office of Management and Budget and all agencies to shrink the federal workforce, federal spending, and federal regulatory burdens,” Semafor added.

-Reuters

The lineup will include Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as Trump’s press secretary, along with former aide Kellyanne Conway and Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, who was Trump’s White House physician.

Former White House adviser Peter Navarro, who served prison time related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and is returning to Trump’s administration as a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, is also expected to give remarks.

Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, and Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan will also attend.

-AP

Donald Trump will issue a broad trade memo on Monday that stops short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, but rather directs federal agencies to evaluate U.S. trade relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

President-elect Trump, who takes office on Monday, has pledged tariffs of 10% on global imports, 60% on Chinese goods and a 25% import surcharge on Canadian and Mexican products, duties that may upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation.

Citing a summary of a memo that the Journal said Trump plans to issue, the newspaper said Trump will direct agencies to investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits and address unfair trade and currency policies by other nations.

The memo singles out China, Canada and Mexico for scrutiny, the newspaper reported. It directs agencies to assess Beijing’s compliance with its 2020 trade deal with the U.S., as well as the status of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the newspaper reported.

-Reuters

President-elect Donald Trump will sign an executive order declaring a national energy emergency aimed at “unleashing affordable and reliable American energy,” an official with the incoming White House said on Monday.

Trump will also sign an executive order focused on Alaska, the official said, adding that the state was critical to U.S. national security and could allow exports of LNG to other parts of the United States and allies.

The official said there was no specific target for the oil price, adding that the Trump administration aimed to ensure an abundance of American energy that would allow prices to drop.

-Reuters

Trump has left St. John’s Episcopal Church after a prayer service ahead of the inauguration.

He and his wife, Melania, are next expected to be welcomed by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, where they will share tea and coffee at the White House.

The private meeting is another presidential transition tradition.

-AP

Trump will sign an executive order declaring that the federal government would recognize only two genders: male and female, an incoming White House official said Monday.

The order undoes parts of one President Joe Biden signed on his first day in office four years ago. Trump’s order could restrict access to gender-affirming medical care and sports competitions for some transgender people.

The official said only two sexes will be recognized on passports and visas.

-AP

President Donald Trump is going to issue a series of orders aimed at remaking America’s immigration policies on his first day in office Monday — ending asylum access, sending troops to the southern border and ending birthright citizenship, an incoming White House official said.

It’s unclear how he would carry out some of his executive orders, including ending automatic citizenship for everyone born in the country, while others were expected to be immediately challenged in the courts.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to preview some of the orders expected later Monday.

-AP

President-elect Donald Trump will declare a national emergency at the U.S. southern border with Mexico and announce plans to send additional armed forces to help secure the border, an incoming Trump administration official said.

The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president, said Mr. Trump would also designate criminal cartels as designated global terrorists.

– Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on taking office hours before Mr. Trump’s inauguration and said he was open to dialogue with the new U.S. administration on Ukraine and nuclear arms.

Mr. Putin, who said he wanted to secure long-lasting peace in Ukraine rather than a short ceasefire, made the comments during a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.

Read the full story here

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he hoped the United States would remain a “historical partner” of his country after Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“I hope that (Trump) has a successful administration and that the Americans continue to be the historical partner of Brazil,” leftist leader Mr. Lula said at a ministerial meeting.

– AFP

Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was “deeply grateful” for President Joe Biden’s pre-emptive pardon.

“My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,” Mr. Milley said in a statement.

“After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our Nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights,” he added.

– Reuters

China’s Vice-President held meetings with the U.S. Vice-President-elect and U.S. business leaders, including Elon Musk, in Washington on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, as the two major powers tackle ongoing tensions over trade and technology.

Han Zheng, who serves as an envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the inauguration, “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade and regional stability” with J.D. Vance, according to the Trump transition team.

Mr. Han stressed the “extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation” the United States and China share in economic and trade relations despite “some disagreements and frictions,” according to a readout of his meeting with Vance issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday.

Mr. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and other measures against China in his second term, while also hinting at ways in which the two rival powers could cooperate on issues such as regional conflicts and curbing the export of substances used in the production of fentanyl.

In an unorthodox move, Mr. Trump last month invited Xi to his inauguration. No head of state has previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration, according to State Department historical records.

While Mr. Xi will not personally attend the event, he and Mr. Trump held a phone call on Friday during which they discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok. The Chinese social media app restored service to users in the U.S. on Sunday, just hours after it went dark in response to a federal ban, which Trump said he would pause by executive order on Monday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday praised TikTok’s role in promoting employment in the U.S.

President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential “revenge” by the incoming Trump administration.

The decision by Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.

“The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,” Biden said in a statement. “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”

China’s Vice President held meetings with the U.S. vice president-elect and U.S. business leaders, including Elon Musk, in Washington on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, as the two major powers tackle ongoing tensions over trade and technology.

Han Zheng, who serves as an envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the inauguration, “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade and regional stability” with J.D. Vance, according to the Trump transition team.

Mr. Han stressed the “extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation” the United States and China share in economic and trade relations despite “some disagreements and frictions,” according to a readout of his meeting with Mr. Vance issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

– AP

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President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential “revenge” by the incoming Trump administration.

The decision by Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.

– AP

The swearing-in ceremony is a public event, and thousands of people are expected to gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to watch the ceremony unfold on large video screens. For those who cannot make it to Washington, the event will be broadcast live on major news channels like ABC, NBC, and CNN. Additionally, live streaming will be available on multiple platforms, ensuring global access to this event. 

You can watch the YouTube live at Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies’ channel.

Major news networks will provide live coverage, including Fox News and MSNBC, and international channels like BBC and Al Jazeera. Additionally, the White House will stream the ceremony on its official website, enabling viewers worldwide to watch the event. You can also read The Hindu’s live blog coverage from the event.

President-elect Donald Trump used a raucous rally Sunday (January 19, 2025) on the eve of his inauguration to promise swift Day 1 action remaking the federal government,shifting federal priorities at breakneck speed and ensuring that “the curtain closes on four long years of American decline.”

Read more:

Soon after being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump is likely to sign a barrage of executive orders, including those related to immigration, border security, energy and governance, his close aide revealed yesterday.

Read the full story:

After being elected as the 47th President of the United States Donald Trump filled the key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.

Read about Mr. Trump’s cabinet:

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