President-elect Trump will call on all Americans to act with courage and restore the vitality of the nation in his inaugural address on Monday.
“I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success. A tide of change is sweeping the country,” Trump will say, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks that were shared with Fox News Digital.
That change will come swiftly, with Trump expected to sign more than 200 executive actions on Inauguration Day, covering his policy priorities on border security, energy, reducing the cost of living for families, ending diversity, equity and inclusion policies across the federal government and more.
“Today, I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense,” Trump will say.
“My message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of history’s greatest civilization.”
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.
President Donald Trump’s first inauguration took place on Jan. 20, 2017.
Protestors created chaos across Washington D.C. ahead of Inauguration Day in 2017, shattering glass storefronts and torching cars, with police arresting more than 200 people in demonstrations that spanned several days.
Trump’s actual swearing-in on Capitol Hill and the parade to the White House happened, however, without any incident.
The day after Trump was sworn into office as the 45th president of the United States, several hundred thousand people from across the country descended on the nation’s capital to protest Trump’s presidency in the “Women’s March on Washington.”
Many of the protesters were indeed women, and were largely peaceful by comparison to the rioters who wreaked havoc in D.C. ahead of the inauguration. The march moved from the National Mall to the streets and took place as the newly inaugurated president attended a National Prayer Service after waking up in the White House for the first time.
Celebrities like America Ferrera, Madonna, Ashley Judd, Cher, Katy Perry, Amy Schumer, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Michael Moore, Debra Messing, Patricia Arquette, and more attended the protest.
Madonna, during that protest, said she had “thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.”
But Trump, in his inaugural address, called for a “new national pride” to heal divisions and asked for unity.
President Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley (Ret.), and others who some speculated may have faced investigations under the incoming Trump administration on Monday.
Biden’s pardons come just hours before he is set to depart the White House and President-elect Trump takes the oath of office once again.
The line to celebrate President-elect Trump’s inauguration at Capital One Arena stretched four city blocks on Monday morning as excited supporters braved the cold for the historic event.
Susan from Michigan said she arrived at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday night and had been waiting outside for hours, dressed in six layers with a plastic bag around her head to fend off the chill. But she doesn’t mind the cold “because we need to support our president and our first lady.
Some in line have been drinking whiskey as the January air feels like 12 degrees. Others have been singing the national anthem to keep their spirits up.
Jackie Brown from Alabama said she arrived at 8:30 on Sunday night with her brother in law and nephew, but they ditched her because it was “too cold.”
The Capital One Arena can hold 20,000 people, but law enforcement officials have said more than 200,000 individuals had tickets to the inauguration, a show of overwhelming support for the newly-elected president.
Tickets to attend presidential inaugurations are made publicly available through Congress. They are available at no cost, but there is a limited number to be dispersed.
A ticket to the inauguration allows attendees to see the president and vice president be sworn in on January 20, 2025, in person.
In order to request a ticket, people must go through their members of Congress or senators. Tickets are available in the weeks before the inauguration, and depending on the member, they could be open for requests even earlier.
Tickets are in very high demand, and not everyone who requests them can get one. However, people can still watch Inauguration Day. The ceremony can be viewed at the National Mall where large video screens will broadcast it to crowds gathered there.
Additionally, people can gather along the inaugural parade route. After being sworn in, President Donald Trump will ceremonially travel from the Capitol to the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue.
Inauguration Day is always held on Jan. 20, as per the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment states, “The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January.”
The amendment was ratified on January 23, 1933.
The Constitution originally dictated that presidents were to be inaugurated on March 4. And most of them have been.
However, the lengthy “lame duck” period began to present an issue for Congress as there were often pressing matters that needed to be addressed.
Further, some of the original justifications for the March date had been remedied, such as travel time and news regarding the election results being spread across the country.
The date of January 20th was decided on, as it would significantly move up the event but also still allows time for certification to take place and any disputes to be settled.
The first president to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.
Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday.
Inauguration Day now takes place on Jan. 20, or the 21st if the former date falls on a Sunday, but that was not always the case.
The first inauguration of a U.S. president came on April 30, 1989, when George Washington was sworn in as commander-in-chief.
The date was moved to March until 1937, when the January tradition began.
Most Americans who have been to or watched a presidential inauguration are also familiar with it taking place facing the national mall and Washington Monument, a tradition first started by former President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Much of the pomp and circumstance of the day is governed by tradition, not the Constitution.
The first inaugural parade, for example, was held by Washington in 1789 in New York. According to a website on inaugural history, it was Thomas Jefferson who made the parade a formal affair.
Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1937 inauguration was the first televised parade, the website said.
“After four years of inflation, chaos at our borders, and weakness on the world stage, the United States is turning the page. President Trump’s inauguration will usher in a new era focused on American strength – including a strong economy, a strong border and a strong military,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., writes in an op-ed for Fox News Digital.
“I expect we will see the president take action immediately to secure the border and undo Biden administration policies that threaten America’s energy security. And Republicans in Congress will work tirelessly to amplify his efforts.
“We are already hard at work on legislation to accomplish two of our biggest priorities – providing the resources necessary to secure the border and extending the tax relief Republicans passed during the first Trump administration.
“The Senate took an initial step on border security this past week with consideration of the Laken Riley Act, which will ensure that illegal aliens who steal, assault a law enforcement officer, or kill or seriously injure another person are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement instead of being allowed out on the streets.
“We’re looking to pass the bill in the Senate Monday and get it to the president’s desk shortly thereafter. Congressional Republicans will also deploy the Congressional Review Act to undo burdensome Biden administration regulations.
“The Senate is also hard at work making sure President Trump has the team he needs in place. Senate committees have held hearings on 12 of President Trump’s nominees so far, with more on the way.”
“…in this moment of President Trump’s second inauguration, our country has a bright, new opportunity to come together and come roaring back once again. If President Trump succeeds, all of us will succeed together,” House Speaker Mike Johnson writes in an op-ed for Fox News Digital.
“It’s no secret that the last four years have been needlessly difficult for the American people. Joe Biden’s open-border policies have left our cities ransacked and our state budgets bankrupted. Fentanyl has poured into our schools and neighborhoods and poisoned our children. 40-year high inflation has left Americans poorer and produced interest rates that put homeownership out of reach for young people. Over-regulation has strangled our industries. Virtually every policy decision of the Biden White House has put America last.
“But with Donald Trump, a new Golden Age can be realized. He has promised to make America safe, strong, and prosperous again. He has proven before he can fulfill those promises. Life will be better for every family in his second term. We have a plan to get there.”
That plan includes deregulation, border security, promoting fossil fuel industries and rooting out “woke” ideologies from the federal government.
“Common sense will be a central theme of Trump’s presidency,” Johnson wrote.
Top members of the three branches of government will come together in a rare display of national unity and tradition when the presidential and vice-presidential oaths of office are delivered at Monday’s inauguration. A swear-in rookie, and perhaps funny hats, will be indispensable parts of the ceremonies.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh will continue a nearly 240-year-old tradition of administering the oaths to President-elect Trump and his No. 2, JD Vance. The other seven members of the high court are expected to attend the event in the Capitol Rotunda, all in their judicial robes.
Whatever political differences exist, they surely will not be on display at this most cordial and dignified of ceremonies. After all, the first person the president thanks will likely be the chief justice. But an undercurrent of tension remains.
During his first run for high office in 2016, candidate Trump took the unusual step of attacking a member of the federal judiciary, labeling Roberts “an absolute disaster” among other personal insults. This will be the “Chief’s” fifth presidential swearing-in, his second with Trump.
The choice of Kavanaugh is no surprise: incoming second lady Usha Vance clerked for Kavanaugh when he was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.
She then went on to a prestigious law clerkship at the Supreme Court with Roberts. Sources say Kavanaugh gave an especially strong job recommendation for Usha Vance to his now bench colleague.
In an August interview with “Fox and Friends,” Usha Vance said Kavanaugh was “such a good boss” and “decent person” who “hired people from all over the political spectrum.”
“My experience working for him was overwhelmingly positive,” she added.
Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas are among recent justices who have performed similar vice-presidential swear-in honors.
This is an excerpt from an article by Shannon Bream and Bill Mears.
Several traditions on Inauguration Day are dedicated to reaffirm the importance of the peaceful transition of power, from White House staff to the commanders-in-chief.
The cooks and cleaners who aid the president and their family every day traditionally take time to say goodbye to the White House’s outgoing residents before public events begin, hours before meeting with the new first family, according to White House History.
It’s also common for the outgoing first lady to give her successor a tour of the East Wing. Notably, Melania Trump bucked this particular tradition with Jill Biden, and it’s not clear if the latter will do the same.
The departing president also is normally known to leave a letter for their successor to open after being sworn in, the contents of which historically are largely undisclosed.
The outgoing president attending the new president’s inauguration is also generally seen as a cornerstone of the peaceful transition of power on Inauguration Day, though this does not always occur.
Just before noon on Monday inside the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States.
Two and a half months after his convincing election victory over Vice President Harris, the president-elect returns to office in what will symbolize his reinvention and redemption four years after being ushered out of the White House by the American electorate.
“We put America first, and it all starts tomorrow,” Trump told thousands of supporters jam-packed into Washington, D.C.’s, Capitol One Arena at his inauguration eve rally. “We begin a brand-new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride.”
President Biden, Harris, former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat members of Congress, foreign dignitaries, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos – three of the wealthiest men in the world – other tech and business executives and some high-profile celebrities will crowd into the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda for Trump’s inauguration, which will be held indoors for the first time in four decades due to an arctic blast that’s sweeping much of the nation.
After Trump’s inaugural address, there will be a rapid-fire series of events, including a formal farewell for Biden and Harris as they leave the Capitol. Minutes later, members of Congress will watch as Trump and JD Vance, the nation’s new vice president, take part in a signing ceremony followed by an inaugural lunch and then a review of the troops.
Trump then returns to Washington, D.C.’s, downtown arena for an abbreviated parade, which was moved indoors because of the frigid weather, in front of thousands of supporters. After that, the new president heads to the White House for an Oval Office ceremony before making his way to the traditional inaugural balls in the evening.
Trump is also expected to get to work immediately, signing more than 200 executive actions on his first day in office, as Fox News Digital first reported Sunday.
“I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country,” Trump vowed at his inauguration eve rally. “You’re going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy, lots of them, lots. We have to set our country on the proper course.”
