WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president on Monday after overcoming impeachment, criminal charges and two assassination attempts to win re-election to the White House, giving Republicans unified control of Washington and D.C. He takes command while taking on the role of They began to rebuild the country’s institutions.
President Trump is expected to act quickly after the ceremony, with executive orders already being prepared for his signature calling for more deportations, more fossil fuel development and fewer civil service protections for government employees.
He will proclaim the beginning of a “thrilling new era of national success” as “waves of change sweep across the nation,” according to excerpts from his inaugural address.
The executive order is the first step in what President Trump calls “a complete recovery for America and a revolution in common sense.”
The frigid weather has replaced the gorgeousness of the day. President Trump’s swearing-in ceremony was held indoors in the Capitol Rotunda for the first time in 40 years, and the inaugural parade was replaced with an event at a downtown arena. Crowds of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inauguration on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be forced to find another place to watch the celebrations.
“God has a plan,” said Terry Barber, 46, who drove nonstop from near Augusta, Georgia, to Washington. “I’m fine with that.”
When Trump takes the oath of office at noon, he will be making a political comeback unprecedented in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House amid the economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that disrupted the country’s tradition of peaceful transfers of power.
But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party, undeterred by a criminal case and two assassination attempts, overwhelming his rivals and capitalizing on voter anger over inflation and illegal immigration.
“I’m ready for the new America,” said Cinde Bost, 63, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Trump becomes the first president to be convicted of a felony for falsifying business records related to hush money payments. He will pledge to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution from the same place he was seized by his supporters on January 6, 2021. He has said that one of his first acts after taking office will be to pardon many of the people who participated in the constitutional riots.
Eight years after first entering the White House as a political newcomer, Mr. Trump is far more familiar with how the federal government operates and has become more emboldened to bend it to his vision. President Trump wants to bring about rapid change by cutting immigration, imposing import tariffs and rolling back Democratic climate and social initiatives.
He has also promised retribution against political opponents and critics, and has placed personal loyalty as a key qualification for appointment to his government.
Hours before Inauguration Day, outgoing President Joe Biden granted preemptive pardons to current and former government officials who have been the target of President Trump’s ire, avoiding possible prosecution. “These are exceptional circumstances and we cannot do anything in good conscience,” Biden said in a statement.
President Trump has promised to move further and faster in enacting his policies than he did in his first term, and already the country’s political, business, and technology leaders are moving forward to respond to him. is being readjusted. Democrats, who once formed a “resistance group,” are now divided over whether to cooperate with Mr. Trump or oppose him. Billionaires are lining up to meet with Trump because they recognize his unparalleled power in Washington and his ability to use government influence to help or hurt their interests. are.
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine soon enters its third year, and a fragile cease-fire appears to be holding after a war with Gaza that lasted more than 15 months, the long-awaited alliance with the US President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, which was once met with skepticism, is now receiving careful attention at home and abroad. Israel and Hamas.
President Trump, who spent Saturday and Sunday nights at Blair House across the street from the White House, will begin Monday’s service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Afterwards, Mr. Biden and first lady Melania Biden will be welcomed by Mr. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the Presidential Palace for the customary tea. It’s a far cry from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend the inauguration.
Prior to the swearing-in ceremony, the two men and their spouses will travel to the Capitol in a joint motorcade.
Vice President-elect J.D. Vance will be the first to take the oath, followed by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who will read the oath from a Bible given to him by his great-grandmother. President Trump is likely to follow suit, using both his family Bible and the Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used to administer the oath of office to Chief Justice John Roberts at his 1861 inauguration.
Inaugural festivities began Saturday, with President Trump arriving in Washington on a government plane and watching fireworks at his private golf club in suburban Virginia. On Sunday, he laid flowers at Arlington National Cemetery and rallied supporters at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington.
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and other billionaires and tech executives who tried to curry favor with Trump and donated millions to his inauguration celebrations will be in attendance.
Also scheduled to attend is the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app considered a national security risk by the U.S., which President Trump said will be one of a number of executive orders he plans to issue on Monday. He promised to lift the de facto ban on TikTok through The president is trying to show rapid progress.
At Sunday’s rally, Trump teased dozens of upcoming executive actions, promising he would sign executive orders including border security and immigration policy “before the sun goes down” on Monday. A number of new entries are accessible under what is called the Title 42 emergency provisions.
Other orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by reversing Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescinding Biden’s recent directive on artificial intelligence.
Further changes are planned for federal employees. President Trump wants to loosen diversity, equity and inclusion programs known as DEI, require employees to return to offices and lay the groundwork for layoffs.
“Shock and awe are expected,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
“What I’ve asked the president and my colleagues to do is to stay focused on delivering on our promises,” Cruz said. “And that’s what we hope to do.”
Republicans who took control of Congress are also working with the incoming Trump administration on legislation that would further rollback Biden administration policies and set their own priorities.
“The president will issue a rapid succession of executive orders, and we will work collaboratively and collaboratively with the administration,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and AP writers Josh Boak and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
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Follow Associated Press coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.
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