Inauguration Day Latest: Trump issues pardons for Jan. 6 rioters and signs more executive actions

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/01/2025 (228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, was sworn in Monday as the 47th U.S. president, taking charge as Republicans claim unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country’s institutions.

Trump’s swearing-in ceremony moved indoors due to intense cold. After being inaugurated, he attended a parade in his honor at Capital One Arena and signed a number of executive orders and pardons for his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Here’s the latest:

Trump and Musk’s budding partnership was evident at inaugural events

The blossoming relationship between Trump and Elon Musk was on full display throughout Monday’s inauguration ceremonies.

Musk sat near Trump during the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, and he pumped his fists when the president promoted the goal of putting American astronauts on Mars.

The moment sharply illustrated the unusual partnership the billionaire tech titan, who has lucrative contracts with the federal government, has established with the incoming president.

South Korea’s acting leader hopes for improved bilateral ties

South Korea’s acting leader, Choi Sang-mok, has expressed hopes that the Trump administration’s inauguration would serve as a chance for bilateral ties to develop reciprocally.

Choi ordered officials on Tuesday to pursue boosted high-level communications with the new U.S. government and strive to improve bilateral relations based on the decades-long military alliance between the two countries.

In a separate meeting, Choi cited worries that trade policies by the Trump government could cause “considerable effects” on South Korea’s export-driven economy. He said the government will mobilize all available resources to respond to changes in the trade environment and improve the local economy.

In a message posted on the social platform X, Choi congratulated Trump, saying that “The Republic of Korea looks forward to Making the Alliance Great Again in the 47th presidency, as we have during the 45th.”

Terrorism designation on Cuba is an act of ‘arrogance,’ Cuban president says

Cuban president says Trump’s decision to redesignate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism is an act of “arrogance and contempt for the truth.”

“It is not surprising. His goal is to continue strengthening the cruel economic war against Cuba for the purpose of domination,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on the social platform X.

Díaz-Canel said that being on the list, along with the U.S. embargo, is one of the reasons behind the “shortages” on the island that are driving people to immigrate to the U.S. territory.

Trump on Monday reversed an executive order issued by Biden that had lifted the designation.

The world’s richest men had reserved seats at the inauguration

Some of the most exclusive seats at Trump’s inauguration were reserved for powerful tech CEOs who also happen to be among the world’s richest men.

That’s a shift from tradition, especially for a president who has characterized himself as a champion of the working class. Seats so close to the president are usually reserved for the president’s family, past presidents and other honored guests.

Attorney for former Proud Boys chairman says his client’s pardon is a ‘turning point’

Nayib Hassan, an attorney for former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, said in a statement that his client’s pardon “symbolizes a turning point for our nation.”

“Throughout this journey, we have steadfastly maintained that the charges and the subsequent prosecution were politically motivated, and today, with President Trump’s act of clemency, that long-fought battle concludes,” Hassan said.

‘Thanks America,’ DC officer says

Metropolitan police officer Daniel Hodges, who was nearly crushed in a doorway while defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, posted a message on social media that he learned about Trump’s mass pardons of rioters after working all day to ensure that Monday’s inauguration was “secure and peaceful.”

“Thanks America,” he wrote.

Trump signs memorandum allowing security clearances for some aides

Trump signed an memorandum allowing his White House counsel to grant interim six-month security clearances — including access to the highest levels of government information — to some aides whose federal background checks are pending.

Trump delayed in signing an agreement with the outgoing Biden administration last year that would have enabled the FBI to begin processing those clearances faster. Trump’s memo directs that they be granted access to federal property, technology and information immediately.

Trump raises possibility of invoking wartime power act to deport gang members

Trump is raising the possibility of invoking a wartime power act for the first time since World War II to deport gang members who are deemed members of a foreign terrorist organization.

He is directing the Homeland Security and Justice departments to prepare for him to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president to detain or deport any noncitizen from a country considered an enemy of the U.S.

The law has been invoked only three times: during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. It was last was used to detain Japanese citizens following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Trump’s executive order paves the way for criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua or MS-13 to be named “foreign terrorist organizations.”

“The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States,” the order reads.

Trump signs order halting offshore wind expansion

Trump signed an executive order halting offshore wind lease sales and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for onshore and offshore wind projects.

Trump’s order says the interior secretary will review federal wind leasing and permitting practices. The assessment will consider the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects, the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry, the order states.

Trump wants to increase drilling for oil and gas and has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind.

Taiwanese president congratulates Trump and Vance

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te congratulated Trump and Vance on their inauguration in a message on the social platform X.

“Taiwan looks forward to working with your administration to promote enduring freedom, peace & prosperity around the world,” the statement read. “We wish you great success in the years ahead.”

The U.S. is Taiwan’s largest unofficial backer and arms provider. The government in Taipei hopes the Trump administration will continue to offer its support in the face of annexation threats from China, which considers the self-ruled island its own territory and threatens to take it over, by force if necessary.

Trump directs attorney general to help states get lethal injection drugs

Trump has signed a sweeping execution order on the death penalty, directing the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Trump wrote that “politicians and judges who oppose capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws of our country.”

A moratorium on federal executions had been in place since 2021, and only three defendants remain on federal death row after Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.

Trump is not confident ceasefire in Gaza will hold

Trump said Hamas is weakened, but he’s hardly certain that the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas will hold.

“I’m not confident,” Trump told reporters. “That’s not our war. It’s their war.”

He said his administration “might” help rebuild Gaza, which he compared to a “massive demolition site.”

“Some beautiful things could be done with it,” said Trump, the real estate developer turned commander in chief, noting the territory’s coastline and “phenomenal” weather and location. “Some fantastic things could be done with Gaza. Some beautiful things could be done with Gaza.”

Trump suspends US foreign assistance for 90 days pending reviews

Trump has signed an executive order temporarily suspending all U.S. foreign assistance programs for 90 days pending reviews to determine whether they are aligned with his policy goals.

It was not immediately clear how much assistance would be initially affected by the order. Funding for many programs has already been appropriated by Congress and obligated to be spent, if not already spent.

Republicans want local police to cooperate with immigration authorities

The majority of U.S. adults think local police in their community should cooperate with federal immigration authorities to deport people who are in the country illegally at least some of the time, according to a January AP-NORC poll. Americans are more likely to say cooperation should happen in some cases but not others than they are to support cooperation across the board.

About 4 in 10 Americans say local police “should always cooperate,” and about half say they “should cooperate in some cases.” Only about 1 in 10 say the local police in their community should never cooperate in these circumstances.

Republicans are especially likely to want cooperation all of the time. About two-thirds of Republicans say local police should always cooperate. Only about one-third of independents and one-quarter of Democrats agree.

Trump immigration order restores 2017 deportation criteria

One of Trump’s more impactful orders on immigration simply restores what was in place when he took office in 2017.

Trump wants to end federal grants to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, or state and local governments that limit cooperation with immigration authorities. The White House maintains that sanctuaries are breaking a law that forbids interfering with federal law enforcement officers.

He also wants negotiations with state and local governments to deputize local police to enforce immigration laws, known as 287(g) agreements after a section of a 1996 immigration law.

The order restores deportation criteria to pursue everyone in the country illegally, not just those with serious criminal records, those deemed national security or public safety threats, and those who recently crossed the border.

Congressional Republican leaders are heading to the White House

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are tentatively heading to the White House on Tuesday to meet with Trump.

That’s according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss them. The plans were first reported by Axios.

It’s not clear if other Republican leaders are joining for what is expected to be an afternoon meeting.

‘No legitimate rationale’ to cut federal workforce, union head says

The president of a government employees labor union says there’s “no legitimate rationale” to cut the size of the federal workforce.

Everett Kelley spoke out Monday in response to Trump’s executive order freezing government hiring.

“Make no mistake – this action is not about making the federal government run more efficiently but rather is about sowing chaos and targeting a group of patriotic Americans that President Trump openly calls crooked and dishonest,” said Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees labor union.

AFGE is the largest federal workers union, representing 800,000 federal and D.C. government workers.

Pelosi calls pardons for Jan. 6 defendants ‘shameful’

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Trump’s actions to pardon and commute sentences of those convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capito; attack are “shameful.”

“The President’s actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution,” Pelosi said in a statement. “It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power.”

She said that despite Trump’s decision, the country must remember the “extraordinary courage and valor of the law enforcement heroes who stood in the breach and ensured that democracy survived on that dark day.”

Trump praises Bill Clinton’s ‘great political sense’

As he sat down to sign executive orders, Trump was asked which former president he would call for advice.

He responded that Bill Clinton was a “very interesting politician” and said he had a “great political sense.”

Trump said Clinton was “disrespected” and “not used properly.”

Trump was also asked about his friendly chat with former President Barack Obama during former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral.

“We were having some crazy conversations,” he said.

Trump moves to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization — again

Trump has signed an executive order beginning the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization.

It was the second time in less than five years that he’s ordered the country to withdraw from the organization, despite it being a move many scientists fear could roll back decadeslong gains made in fighting infectious diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

Experts also warn it could weaken the world’s defenses against dangerous new outbreaks capable of triggering pandemics.

Trump vs. Biden

The contrast couldn’t be more dramatic.

Trump is continuing to riff and answer questions from reporters in the Oval Office as he signs another round of executive action.

He’s been joking and opining on everything from foreign policy to drones to the way he’s redecorated the ornate room and seems at ease and supremely confident.

Biden was known to rarely engage with reporters at length.

Trump says he’ll talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin soon

“Most people thought that war would have been over in one week,” Trump said of Russia’s nearly three-year war on Ukraine. He added, “I think he’d be very well off to end that war.”

Trump said that he thinks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to make a deal to end a conflict.

Trump says the US should broker a deal to own half of TikTok

Trump says the United States as a country should broker a deal to own half of TikTok, which he estimated could be worth $1 trillion.

“I think the US should be entitled to get half of TikTok and, congratulations, TikTok has a good partner and that would be worth, you know, could be $500 billion,” Trump said, adding that rich people have called him about the deal.

The president was speaking about the social media platform with a China-based owner as he was signing an order to keep TikTok open so that it can find a potential buyer and avoid being shut down on national security grounds.

Trump calls birthright citizenship ‘ridiculous’ as he tries to end it

Trump says he favors legal immigration as he signed orders declaring a national emergency on the U.S. border with Mexico, suspending refugee resettlement and ending automatic citizenship for anyone born in the United States.

Trump acknowledged an imminent legal challenge to overturning birthright citizenship, which has been enshrined in the U.S. Constitution since 1868. He said automatic citizenship was “just ridiculous” and that he believes he was on “good (legal) ground” to change it.

“That’s a big one,” he bantered with reporters while signing an order declaring the border emergency.

Trump said immigrant labor was needed for investment that he anticipates will accompany higher tariffs.

“I’m fine with legal immigration. I like it, we need people,” he said.

Trump executive order keeps TikTok online for now

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to keep TikTok operating for 75 days, a relief to the social media platform’s users even as national security questions persist.

TikTok’s China-based parent was supposed to find a U.S. buyer or be banned on the previous Sunday. Trump’s order would give them more time to find a buyer.

“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok,” Trump says.

Former President Joe Biden declined to enforce the bipartisan measure that he signed into law, while Trump has pledged to keep TikTok open after crediting it for helping his 2024 election victory. Trump’s legal authority to preserve TikTok is unclear under the terms of the law recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lawyer calls commutation for Proud Boys client ‘wonderful’

Norm Pattis, an attorney for former Proud Boys organizer Joseph Biggs, said it was “wonderful” to learn that Trump commuted his client’s 17-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy.

“It gets him out of prison,” Pattis told The Associated Press. “He had 13, 14 more years to go, and there’s no place like home.”

Trump says tariffs on US neighbors could come next month

Trump says he could place 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1. He declined to give a date on China tariffs.

Trump has talked extensively about his tariff plans and his affection for the levies on imported goods during multiple public remarks Monday.

No West Wing office for Musk

Trump says Elon Musk won’t get a desk in the West Wing.

The president made the comment while signing executive orders in the Oval Office.

Trump has named Musk, the Tesla CEO and X owner, as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump finds letter from Biden while signing executive orders

Trump found a letter from Biden in the Oval Office’s Resolute desk, but only after a journalist reminded him to look for it.

While signing a series of executive orders, a journalist asked Trump if he’d received a letter. Trump said he didn’t know and checked the desk drawers, holding up the letter for the cameras.

“Maybe we should all read it together,” Trump said before setting it aside. He said he’ll read it himself before sharing it publicly.

The letter’s envelope has “47″ handwritten in what looks like pencil and underlined.

A new round of executive actions

Trump is using the first appearance of his second term in the Oval Office to sign another series of executive actions. Here are some of the key things he’s signed:

— pardons and commutations that Trump said would cover about 1,500 people criminally charged in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021

— overhauling the refugee admission program to better align with American principles and interests

— declaring a “national emergency” at the U.S.-Mexico border

— designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations

Trump issues sweeping pardon for Jan. 6 rioters

Trump issued pardons for participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, one of his first acts after being sworn in as the country’s 47th president on Monday.

The pardons fulfill Trump’s promise to release supporters who tried to help him overturn his election defeat four years ago.

“These are the hostages,” he said while signing the paperwork in the Oval Office.

Trump said he was pardoning about 1,500 defendants and issuing six commutations.

Trump makes his Oval Office debut

After hours spent celebrating his new administration, Trump is making his first Oval Office appearance.

Trump has pledged to sign a series of executive actions from behind the oval-shaped room’s famous Resolute Desk.

Those come after he signed an initial flurry at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, where thousands of his supporters gathered to celebrate an inaugural parade that was moved indoors due to the cold.

Trump rescinds 2021 Title IX order

Trump rescinded a 2021 order signaling the Education Department would use Title IX to protect against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

The Biden administration later went further to cement that interpretation into federal regulation, but it was overturned after Republican-led states challenged the rule in federal court.

Rescinding the 2021 order won’t have much effect on schools and colleges, but it clears the slate for other action by the Trump administration.

Trump also rescinded a COVID-19-era executive order directing federal officials to give schools guidance on reopening during the pandemic. That order, issued on Biden’s second day in office, also required the Education Department to explore the pandemic’s “disparate impacts” on students of color and students with disabilities.

Before order, Florida governor starts calling it ‘Gulf of America’

Trump has not signed an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has begun calling it just that.

He declared a state of emergency due to winter weather expected along the Gulf Coast.

A closer look at Trump’s executive action freezing Biden’s action on Cuba

Trump has reversed an executive order issued by Biden that moved to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Biden formally notified Congress just last week of his decision to lift the designation as part of a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free political prisoners on the island.

The day after the announcement, Cuba began releasing people who were convicted of various crimes, including some who were arrested after taking part in the historic 2021 protests, according to Cuban civil groups following the cases of detainees on the island.

A closer look at Trump’s executive action freezing many new orders by Biden

Trump has issued an order freezing many new or pending federal regulations, effectively blocking last-minute protections issued by the Biden administration.

Such an order is fairly common when a new administration takes over, but it could be the first in a series of moves designed to tamp down what the new president and other top Republicans have consistently decried as “federal overreach.”

The move recalled the first day of Trump’s first administration in 2017. Then, he froze all pending federal regulations, effectively suspending Obama-era actions that were new or closer to implementation.

That “immediate regulatory freeze” did not apply to some regulations being implemented for emergency situations relating to health, safety, financial or national security. Implementation of the new administration’s order is likely to include similar language allowing for key exceptions

Trump returns to the White House

Trump has officially returned to the White House as president once again.

He walked through the doors shortly after 7 p.m., joined by his wife, his son Barron and his father-in-law.

A closer look at Trum

p’s executive action ordering federal employees back to work 5 days a week

Among the executive orders Trump signed with a flourish in front of a cheering crowd was one mandating that federal workers return to their offices five days a week.

The move followed the new president’s pledge to end the work-from-home culture that became common during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump said he planned to dismiss federal employees who don’t return to the office to comply with the order.

A closer look at Trump’s executive order on the federal hiring freeze

Trump has ordered a federal hiring freeze on his first day back in office, mirroring an action he took at the start of his first term to try to reduce the size of government.

The order suspends hiring for new positions and many open ones. It includes exceptions for posts related to national security and public safety, as well as the military.

During his campaign, Trump pledged to dismantle a federal bureaucracy that he derided as the “deep state.”

The order eight years ago was intended as a temporary, 90-day measure until federal budget officials, as well as those in charge of the government’s personnel office, could devise a longer-term strategy for reducing the size of the federal government — and it was effectively lifted that April.

How long the latest freeze may last is less clear. It is a drastic step away from the Biden administration, which took steps to increase the federal workforce and give pay raises to many in its ranks.

What Trump has signed on in his first round of executive orders

1. Halting 78 Biden-era executive actions

2. A regulatory freeze preventing bureaucrats from issuing regulations until the Trump administration has full control of the government

3. A freeze on all federal hiring except for military and a few other essential areas

4. A requirement that federal workers return to full-time in-person work

5. A directive to every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis

6. Withdrawal from the Paris climate treaty

7. A government order restoring freedom of speech and preventing censorship of free speech

8. Ending “weaponization of government”