Trump takes oath of office after historic reelection

CALISTOGA, Calif. —  As Donald Trump strode purposefully into the Capitol Rotunda for his swearing-in as president, Gary Himelfarb had already had enough.

“I’m getting sick just seeing him,” he said.

On the day he took his oath of office, President Trump promised to sign numerous executive orders that stand to undercut California’s aggressive auto emission standards, undo Biden-era environmental protections and boost U.S. fossil fuel production. To raucous applause — first inside the Capitol Rotunda and inside the Capital One Arena afterward — Trump assured that his administration would “drill baby drill.”

Among other anticipated actions, Trump nixed California’s statewide ban on selling new cars that run solely on gasoline starting in 2035. The “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule requires an increasing percentage of passenger vehicles sold by California auto dealerships to be powered by zero-emission electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, with a small share of plug-in hybrids allowed. It is supposed to take full effect in a decade, though the auto industry is not on track to meet that ambitious goal.

President Trump quickly flexed the sweeping powers of the presidency following his second inauguration at the Capitol on Monday, signing a slate of executive orders that would radically alter U.S. policy if allowed to stand.

He also pardoned or commuted the sentences of all of his loyalists — more than 1,500 people — who stormed the same Capitol building in a failed attempt to illegitimately keep him in power four years prior, repeatedly referring to them as “hostages.”

President Trump vowed Monday to revert the name of Alaska’s 20,310-foot Denali, the tallest peak in North America, to Mt. McKinley, reigniting a long-running dispute.

“We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mt. McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs,” Trump said Monday after he was sworn into office at the U.S. Capitol.

WASHINGTON —  President Trump promised an inaugural address focused on “unity,” but what he delivered was more a campaign speech in a formal suit — long on promises and anger toward opponents, short on gestures toward national reconciliation.

“For American citizens, Jan. 20, 2025, is Liberation Day,” he said — meaning liberation from a Democratic administration that (in his telling) “extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken.”

WASHINGTON —  President Donald Trump has begun his promised flurry of executive action on Day 1. With his first batch of memoranda and orders, Trump repealed dozens of President Biden’s actions, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords, put a temporary freeze on new federal regulations and commanded federal law enforcement to end all cases and investigations of any Trump supporters, among other actions.

Trump, meanwhile, has additional executive orders awaiting his signature as he returns to the White House for the first time since his swearing-in earlier in the day. Those documents would end diversity, equity and inclusion funding, crack down on border crossings and ease regulations on oil and natural gas production.

During his inaugural address on Monday, President Trump blasted what he called a government unable to protect its own citizens in times of crisis — including the people of Southern California affected by the still-burning Palisades and Eaton fires, which have destroyed thousands of structures and killed at least 27 people.

Trump used the examples of Southern Californians and “the wonderful people of North Carolina, who were treated so badly” after Hurricane Helene this fall.

WASHINGTON —  President Trump took steps Monday to fundamentally and drastically change how the nation handles immigration, signing executive orders to revoke birthright citizenship, declare a national emergency at the southern border and deploy military troops there.

Citing public safety and national security threats, Trump said he would immediately halt all illegal entry at the border, invoking an 18th century law to carry out his plan to rid the country of people here without authorization.

WASHINGTON —  President Trump’s inauguration on Monday in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda at times seemed surreal.

Hundreds of the world’s most powerful people — among them every living former U.S. president as well as billionaire tech executives — crammed cheek-by-jowl in the 7,200-square-foot space after the ceremony was moved indoors because of a bitter cold snap, one that prevented the inauguration from taking place outside on the West Front of the Capitol for the first time in four decades.

WASHINGTON —  President Trump returns to the White House ready to immediately overhaul the government using the fastest tool he has — the executive order.

An incoming president signing a flurry of executive orders is standard practice. Executive orders allow a president to wield power without action from Congress. But there are also limits to what orders can achieve.

WASHINGTON —  President Trump on Monday delivered a nearly 30-minute speech from the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, his second inaugural address to the American people. Here are excerpts:

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:

Just after swearing the oath of office on Monday, President Trump accused California of voter fraud, saying he believes he would have won the state in November if its Democratic leaders had not cheated.

Trump cited his support among Latinos as the basis for this belief, but otherwise offered no evidence for the claim.

Speaking to supporters in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol after his inaugural address in the Rotunda, Trump said he “did great” in California but there was malfeasance in the state sending out “like 38 million ballots and nobody knows where the hell they’re sending them.”

“You know, they passed a law in California that if you work in an election bureau and if you so much as ask for a voter ID, if you say, ‘Sir, ma’am, could I please look at your voter ID?’ they have the right to put you in jail. You’re a criminal. Can you believe it?” Trump said.

He added: “There’s only one reason that happens: they want to cheat.”

Trump has previously, and baselessly, accused California of voter fraud — including following his victorious 2016 presidential campaign.

Gov. Gavin Newsom this fall signed a law that bans local governments from requiring people to show identification when voting. Existing state law already said that, in most cases, California voters did not need to show identification before voting.

With House Speaker Mike Johnson standing beside him, nodding, Trump said that “when we get things cleaned up and we get back to a little bit of normalcy, I’m going to ask the speaker to really get involved because I think we would have won the state of California.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris won California with 58.5% of the vote. Trump won 38.3% of ballots cast.

Eagle-eyed watchers of President Trump’s inauguration noticed that he kept his left hand at his side and did not place it on the Bible held by First Lady Melania Trump as he took the oath of office.

Did it matter?

Constitutionally speaking, no. Though swearing upon a Bible is a tradition, the Constitution does not require it. In fact, some presidents have taken the oath of office without a Bible. Two such occasions followed the deaths of presidents.

When Warren G. Harding, the 29th president, died of an illness in San Francisco on Aug. 2, 1923, Vice President Calvin Coolidge was on vacation in Vermont. What happened next in the family farmhouse is described by “The Smithsonian Book of Presidential Trivia”: “Coolidge’s father, a notary public, administered the oath of office to his son by the light of a kerosene lamp.” There was a family Bible available but it was not used.

Coolidge was later sworn in by the chief justice of the Supreme Court in Washington after concerns were raised about the jurisdiction of Coolidge’s father.

President Lyndon B. Johnson did not use a Bible when he was hastily sworn into office after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963. Johnson placed his hand on a church missal, which was found on Air Force One, where the swearing-in was held. According to the Smithsonian book, Johnson was sworn in by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah T. Hughes. It was the only time a president had been sworn in by a woman.

NEW YORK —  President 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, Trump described “American carnage” and promised to end it immediately. On Monday, he declared that the country’s “decline” would end immediately, ushering in “the golden age of America.”

Donald J. Trump was inaugurated Monday as the 47th president of the United States. Here are some excerpts from his inaugural address.

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WASHINGTON — President Trump said during his inaugural address Monday that he will soon sign executive orders that will beef up border security and crack down on illegal immigration.

“First I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said. “All illegal entry will be immediately halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”

Trump said he will send troops to the southern border and designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

“By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities,” Trump said.

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 allows the president to arrest, imprison or deport immigrants from a country considered an enemy of the U.S. during wartime. Trump could use it to conduct rapid deportations without the typically required legal processes. But legal experts say courts would likely strike down Trump’s interpretation as beyond what the law allows.

Trump also said he would reinstate his “Remain in Mexico” policy, under which asylum seekers must stay across the border as their asylum cases are being adjudicated.

He said he would end what conservatives refer to as “catch and release,” the practice of releasing migrants from custody while they await conclusions to their cases in immigration court. This process can often take years.

“As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do,” Trump said. “We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before.”

Jon Smith, 46, sat in an oversized plush armchair at a DC hotel, watching the inauguration unfold on screen and clapping occasionally. His 11-year-old daughter, London, perched on the side of the chair, videoing the ceremony on her phone.

As a former district chair for the Republican Party in Michigan, Smith had led tour buses to Washington D.C. to protest the certification of the last election on Jan. 6, 2021. He arrived on Monday morning with a mission in mind: to secure pardons for two of the people on his bus who were charged for breaching the Capitol grounds four years ago.

“I’m going to try to get the pardon … as fast as I can get it,” Smith said.

Trump is expected to sign a slew of executive orders, possibly including pardons, as soon as Monday afternoon. As one of his last acts, President Biden signed a flurry of pardons Monday morning — including for people not yet charged with any crimes, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the country’s response to the pandemic, and Biden’s own son Hunter Biden.

Smith was headed to another watch party before attending the Liberty Ball, one of three inauguration parties Trump was expected to attend Monday evening.

During his inaugural address on Monday, President Trump blasted what he called a government unable to protect its own citizens in times of crisis — including the people of Southern California impacted by the still-burning Palisades and Eaton fires, which have destroyed thousands of structures and killed at least 27 people.

Trump used the examples of Southern Californians and “the wonderful people of North Carolina, who were treated so badly” after Hurricane Helene this fall.

VIDEO | 00:49

Trump comments on fires in Los Angeles during inauguration speech

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In Los Angeles, he said, “we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense.”

“They’re raging through the houses and communities even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now,” he said. “They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting.”

“We can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.”

Trump said, “we now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad.”

Trump said over the weekend that he was planning to visit Southern California on Friday to see the areas ravaged by fires. He has repeatedly criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s Democratic leaders for their handling of the crisis.

California

Southern California braces for latest threat of extreme fire weather

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said that the fire department has deployed all available resources and positioned fire patrols and engines in high-risk areas across Los Angeles.

Jan. 20, 2025

Newsom’s press office responded to the inauguration remarks on X by posting Trump’s words, “Without a token of defense,” along with photos of firefighters — on foot and in a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection helicopter — battling flames.

“As our nation observes the peaceful transfer of power, we are reminded of the enduring principles that underpin our democracy: finding common ground and striving toward shared goals,” Newsom wrote on his personal X account.

Newsom wrote that his administration “stands ready to work with the Trump-Vance administration” to serve Californians.

“In the face of one of the worst natural disasters in America’s history, this moment underscores the critical need for partnership, a shared commitment to facts, and mutual respect — values that enable civil discourse, effective governance and meaningful action,” Newsom wrote. “I look forward to President Trump’s visit to Los Angeles and his mobilization of the full weight of the federal government to help our fellow Americans recover and rebuild.”

California

With a forecast of dangerous winds, LAFD pre-deploys to avoid failings of Palisades fire

With more dangerous winds coming, LAFD says it has staffed all of its available extra engines and staged more than two dozen engines in fire risk areas, measures they failed to take ahead of the deadly Palisades fire.

Jan. 20, 2025

In an interview on Bloomberg TV, Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, who represents much of the area burned in the Palisades fire, called Trump’s comments about the firefighting effort “a gut punch.”

“I was with so many firefighters,” Sherman said. “This is not a token defense. This is an incredible defense. These guys are brave. They are working 12- and 24-hour shifts. And for the president to use his inauguration to say it isn’t even a token defense is just a stab in the guts of every one of the people that we rely on.

“It’s simply outrageous.”

Sherman said he believes the president’s visit on Friday “will be important” and that if Trump advocates for federal disaster funding, it will be passed by Congress.

Donald John Trump was inaugurated Monday as the 47th president of the United States, marking an extraordinary return to the White House for a polarizing figure written off many times by the nation’s political establishment.

Trump, 78, swore the oath of office inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the ceremony having been moved indoors for the first time since 1985 because of bitterly cold temperatures in Washington, D.C.

Trump’s inauguration inside the Capitol came four years after it was a scene of violence and chaos as a mob of his supporters violently stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden.

Trump returns to the White House after a campaign in which he survived two assassination attempts, was convicted of felony charges, and saw his opponent, President Joe Biden, drop out of the race less than four months before Election Day.

Trump soundly defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris after a whirlwind 107-day campaign in which he appealed to Americans’ anxieties about the economy and immigration and slammed Democrats as too “woke” and out of touch with everyday Americans.

The Republican president has promised to move quickly to deport millions of people in the country illegally, impose massive tariffs, place new restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and to pardon or commute the sentences of supporters convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

He assumes office alongside Vice President JD Vance, the former Ohio senator and author of the acclaimed memoir “Hillbilly Elegy. ”

JD Vance, the 40-year-old former Ohio senator and author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” was sworn in as vice president on Monday inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Vance — who once branded President Trump as “cultural heroin,” saying he offered “false euphoria” and easy solutions for problems he ultimately could not solve — became a fervent and provocative ally who, ultimately, appealed to the president’s base.

Like his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, he has a law degree from Yale, where the two met. They have three children.

Before Trump tapped him as a running mate this summer, Vance was best known for his 2016 memoir, which chronicled his impoverished upbringing in the Rust Belt and Appalachia.

During the campaign, Vance — a lawyer and tech entrepreneur — faced off against Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former high school teacher and football coach known for his folksy charm and his upbringing in rural Nebraska.

Trump’s decision to select a running mate different from his first-term vice president was a remarkable departure from modern American history.

His first vice president, Mike Pence, fell out of favor with Trump after refusing to reject the results of the 2020 election, which Trump and Pence lost.

Pence chose to certify the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021, prompting pro-Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol to chant, “Hang Mike Pence!”

Inside the Capitol Rotunda, where space was tight and seats were limited, the billionaire chief executives of Meta, X and Amazon sat amid members of the current and former first families and in front of the people President-elect Trump has chosen to serve on his Cabinet.

The up-close seats for Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos demonstrate the influence of the heads of some of the world’s most powerful companies with the incoming president.

Also in attendance were Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai; Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple; Sam Altman, chief of OpenAI; and TikTok Chief Executive Shou Chew.

Attending the ceremony were all living former presidents, who entered the room followed by justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Governors were relegated to the Emancipation Hall overflow viewing space.

Trump and President Biden entered the Capitol side-by-side, flanked by a military honor guard and followed by their wives and the outgoing and incoming vice presidents.

“Good morning,” Trump said as he entered the Capitol with Biden.

Asked by reporters how they felt, Biden responded: “Well.”

In the crowd, Republicans and Democrats sat together, taking selfies.

Foreign leaders also made their way into the Rotunda, including former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and recently elected Argentinian President Javier Milei.

Right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk also had a coveted seat inside the Rotunda, from which he filmed himself saying, “Make America Great Again.”

WASHINGTON —  Thousands of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Four years later, some of them are allowed to return to the nation’s capital so they can celebrate Trump’s return to the White House.

At least 20 defendants charged with or convicted of joining the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol have asked federal judges for permission to attend President-elect Trump’s second inauguration Monday, according to an Associated Press review of court records.

Californians who spent thousands of dollars to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration were upset but understanding about their inability to witness him taking the oath of office because of the frigid temperatures expected in the nation’s capital on Monday.

“We are disappointed we could not view the swearing-in ceremony in person due to bone-chilling weather,” said Sarah Lowrey of Newport Beach. But she added that she was grateful that the Lincoln Club, a powerful California GOP donor group, quickly pivoted to create an inauguration watch party. The ceremony will be held in the Capitol Rotunda.

“I can’t wait to hear the 100 executive orders President Trump processes on Day 1! And I can’t wait to say goodbye to Biden’s radical Cabinet members and can’t wait to welcome the new Cabinet secretaries that will implement Trump’s policies day one,” said Lowrey, adding that she was looking forward to attending the Liberty Ball on Monday evening. “So here is to victory and the next four years with President Trump! A presidency with God on our side.”

Rachel Gunther of Long Beach said she attended Trump’s 2017 inauguration, so she was less disheartened than some of her friends who also traveled to Washington, though she described the situation as “a little bit disappointing, a little bit bittersweet.”

“I think he has a good reason, right? You know, obviously he’s concerned” about the weather, said the Zumba instructor, who was wearing jeweled American flag earrings as she gathered with friends in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel.

Referring to frigid temperatures, she added, “You and I are from California. We’re like, ‘Minus 20, what?’ But I think the base is understanding. It’s still going to be good, because we can see him. I mean, the environment and the vibe is still here.”

President Biden met President-elect Donald Trump at the White House early Monday, greeting the man who is both his predecessor and his successor with the words: “Welcome home.”

Trump and incoming First Lady Melania Trump arrived in a black sport utility vehicle.

They met the president and First Lady Jill Biden on a gold-trimmed red carpet, posing for photographs before heading inside for a private meeting before the inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

Throughout Washington, flags that were at half-staff following the death of former President Jimmy Carter were returned to full height for the swearing-in.

WASHINGTON —  Kelly Mann stood outside Capital One Arena early Monday, squinting at the winter sun, leaning against a wagon of red MAGA hats and gaudy gold chains with the visage of Donald Trump, the soon-to-be-inaugurated president.

It was 23 degrees and sunny in the nation’s capital. That was an improvement, Mann said, from Sunday, when freezing rain and snow flurries fell on Washington.

WASHINGTON —  Ronald Reagan probably didn’t realize he was starting a tradition when he wrote a note congratulating his successor and left it in the Oval Office desk drawer after two terms as president.

He did that for George H.W. Bush, his successor and vice president of eight years. Bush did the same for Bill Clinton, who left a note for Bush’s son George W. The younger Bush left behind written words for Barack Obama, who later put pen to paper for Donald Trump.

From the start of his campaign to retake the White House, President-elect Donald Trump promised to go big on his first day back in power.

In a series of early videos outlining his plans and in stump speeches across the country, Trump said he would use executive orders on “Day 1” to bypass the normal legislative process and secure major changes to U.S. policy with the simple stroke of his pen.

WASHINGTON —  For 236 years, ever since George Washington, a newly elected president’s inaugural address has traditionally served several purposes.

One is simply to mark the beginning of a new administration in celebration and hope — and an occasional dose of eloquence.