Donald Trump will be sworn in for his second term as US President at 12:00 EST (17:00 GMT) today, Monday, January 20, 2025.
The ceremony, traditionally held outside the US Capitol, has been moved indoors due to a forecast of frigid temperatures with a wind chill of -13C.
Both Donald Trump and his Vice-President JD Vance will take part in swearing-in ceremonies at 12:00 local time (17:00 GMT), where they take the oath of office.
The newly-elected President will then give what is known as the inaugural address – his first speech to the nation since officially taking office.
Trump’s “American carnage” speech at his 2017 inauguration was about 17 minutes in length.
He will then head inside the Capitol where they will sign off on their first official actions.
Trump will eat an inaugural luncheon, before heading out to review troops from the Capitol steps, and leading them in a procession.
Trump is also expected to attend three inaugural balls in the evening.
The US President-elect has promised seismic change as well as action on day one. At a raucous rally in the city on Sunday, January 19, 2025, Trump said that he would sign a flurry of executive orders within moments of being inaugurated, covering issues ranging from immigration and deportations to the environment and transgender rights.
On the eve of his White House return, Donald Trump promised to move “with historic speed and strength” to sign a blitz of executive orders.
The Republican promised to act unilaterally on a wide array of issues, using his presidential powers to launch mass deportation operations, slash environmental regulations and end diversity programmes.
Trump is expected to sign more than 200 executive actions today. This would include executive orders, which are legally-binding, and other presidential directives like proclamations, which are usually not.
The incoming President promised executive orders that would ramp up artificial intelligence programmes, form the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), make records available related to the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963, direct the military to create an Iron Dome missile defence shield and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies from the military.
He also told supporters he would stop transgender women from competing in female sports categories and hand back control of education to America’s states.
Trump’s Tough Stance On Immigration To Cause Backlash
Among the raft of measures Donald Trump has promised to take when he assumes office later today is what the incoming President describes as the “largest deportation program in American history.”
However, Frank Sharry, Immigration Adviser for Trump’s presidential rival, Kamala Harris suggested that Trump will not have the institutional capacity to carry out these plans.
Speaking with a news agency, Sharry noted, “It could be a lot of hot air.”
“It could be a lot of crying families being ripped apart as they’re removed from apartments…Those are the things that Trump and his team have promised.”
Frank Sharry
Sharry added that Trump’s stance as a “hardliner” on immigration prompted “huge backlash” during his first term.
“The public wants to get control of the border, they want to deal with those who have committed crimes, they don’t want to see families ripped apart.
“If he goes ahead with – as he calls it – deportation raids, I think he’s going to engender a real backlash.”
Frank Sharry
As a result, Sharry stated that Trump’s tough talk on immigration could be an attempt to prompt people “to leave the country on their own” through the threat of stronger action.
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