Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, beginning his second term and marking one of the most stunning political comebacks in American history.
As per tradition, Inauguration Day is largely devoted to pomp and circumstance. One president leaves the White House, and another comes in. But Trump has also promised to sign a number of executive orders on topics ranging from border security to oil and gas production on his first day in office.
Here’s what we know so far about Inauguration Day:
When is the inauguration?
Trump will take the oath of office in front of the US Capitol at 12 noon ET (1700 GMT), which will likely be administered by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
After this Trump will give his inaugural speech. In interviews, he has said that he intended for it to be uplifting and unifying. It would be a departure from his first speech in 2017, in which he described a broken country that he described as “American carnage.”
The outgoing president, Democrat Joe Biden, has said he plans to attend the ceremony and witness the transfer of power, a courtesy Trump denied him four years ago.
Thousands of spectators without tickets are expected to gather on the National Mall and watch the ceremony on large video screens.
Who has been invited?
Breaking tradition, Trump has invited many foreign leaders to the ceremony. Historically, they have not attended inaugurations due to security concerns and have sent diplomats in their place.
Argentinian President Javier Meili, a strong supporter of Trump, has said he will attend, as will Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports.
Another Trump supporter, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, has said he is considering coming. Despite the invitation, Chinese President Xi Jinping is not expected to attend.
Parade to the White House
After lunch with congressional leaders at the Capitol, Trump will proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House in a motorcade accompanied by a procession of military regiments, school marching bands, floats and civic groups. After this, the new President and his guests will inspect the rest of the parade with a critical attitude.
getting to work
Trump has vowed to use the afternoon to sign more than two dozen executive orders — orders that do not require congressional approval — that will seek to roll back many of the Biden administration’s policies.
He is expected to sign orders that give immigration officials more authority to arrest immigrants with no criminal records, send more troops to the US-Mexico border and restart border wall construction.
The orders will include a campaign to increase energy production and follow Trump’s frequently stated campaign of “drill, baby, drill.”
Trump is also likely to issue the first wave of pardons for defendants convicted by the federal government for participating in the siege of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Who bears the cost?
A series of inauguration ceremonies will be held that evening at locations throughout Washington, some of which Trump may attend.
Official events are financed by Trump’s inaugural committee, which is chaired by longtime Trump allies Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer, and Kelly Loeffler, a former U.S. senator. Amazon.com, led by founder Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta Platforms have said they will donate $1 million to the committee, as have Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi have both donated $1 million to the fund.
Trump’s committee will be responsible for covering the cost of everything except the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, which will be borne by taxpayers.
Trump raised a record $106.7 million for his 2017 inauguration celebration.
a campaign-style rally
The day before the inauguration, Trump is set to hold a campaign-style “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” on a field in downtown Washington.
Such an event would likely help thousands of Trump supporters pack the city for inauguration festivities. Trump is expected to speak at the rally.
It will be Trump’s first rally in the District of Columbia since January 6, 2021, when his supporters entered the US Capitol in an unsuccessful bid to delay the certification of the 2020 election.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
