Month: January 2025

President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in Washington, D.C. for the second time shortly after noon on Monday, Jan. 20th.  Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, the Trump family, and Trump’s future Cabinet was in attendance along with former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as billionaire tech CEOs including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook.

Trump took the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, at 12:05 p.m. EST, with his children and wife standing by along with outgoing President Biden and Vice President Harris looking on. He acknowledged the living former presidents in attendance before delivering his inaugural address inside the Capitol Rotunda for the first time in 40 years, due to the sub-freezing temperatures in Washington.

After being sworn in as president, Trump vowed in his inaugural address “from this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” adding that “the golden age of America begins right now.” He announced a slate of executive orders and a series of changes, including declaring national emergencies at the southern border and energy. The President spoke for nearly 40 minutes in the Capitol Rotunda; while in a second set of free-style remarks in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall, Trump attacked political adversaries, while once again calling the 2020 election “totally rigged”.

Trump was expected to sign a series of executive actions immediately, including declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border and pulling the US out of the Paris climate deal. He is also planning to pardon nonviolent January 6 defendants and commute the sentences of others.  Said Trump: “all illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my ‘remain in Mexico’ policy. I will end the practice of catch and release and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”

For a full recap of Inauguration Day events, head HERE.

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In the final moment of his presidency on Monday, President Joe Biden issued pardons to several close family members as well as several Trump critics. (per ABC NEWS.)

Shortly before Donald Trump was to be inaugurated as the nation’s 47th president, the White House announced that Biden granted clemency for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and also issued five preemptive pardons to James Biden, Joe’s younger brother; Sara Jones Biden, James’ wife; Valerie Biden Owens, Joe’s younger sister; John T. Owens’, Valerie’s husband; and Francis W. Biden, Joe’s younger brother. Signed Jan. 19, the pardon excuses James Biden and the other family members of “ANY NONVIOLENT OFFENSES against the United States which they may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon.”

Biden wrote in a statement: “My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.  That is why I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”

Republicans in congress had pressed the incoming Justice Department to bring charges against James Biden, 75, for allegedly lying to Congress as part of its impeachment inquiry into the outgoing president and his family.  James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, wrote to incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi to hold James Biden accountable for “having misled Congress regarding Joe Biden’s participation in his family’s influence peddling and deserving of prosecution under federal law.”

Biden announced the preemptive pardons for his siblings and in-laws while in the Capitol Rotunda attending the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump: “I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finance. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”

Editorial credit: Jonah Elkowitz / Shutterstock.com