Biden inauguration as it happened: Joe Biden sworn in with Kamala Harris, spending first day as President undoing Donald Trump's work
Joe Biden has wasted no time in his first day as US President undoing some of Donald Trump's biggest decisions, including rejoining the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization.
Mr Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are scheduled to attend an inaugural prayer service on Thursday (local time).
Look back over how inauguration day unfolded in our live blog.
Key events
Live updates
That's all from the blog today
By Lucy Sweeney
We're going to have to pull up stumps here. It's now past 2:00am in Washington DC, and the flurry of activity from the White House has slowed down. Peter Marsh will be back blogging again first thing tomorrow.
One more question for the road.
Fabulous day. You have all outdone yourselves with the blog today.
Two questions:
There seems to be some bulk under a lot of jackets. Were the President and Vice President wearing bulletproof vests?
Second question: who are the gorgeous little girls walking with Kampala Harris?
-Family First
Unfortunately I don't have the answer to that first question, BUT I do know it was mighty cold in DC today, so a lot of that would have been layering. Of course, security was very tight for the inauguration, so it's possible.
I can, however, tell you who those cuties in coats are! These are the daughters of Meena Harris, Kamala Harris's niece.
Thanks again for joining us on a historical day for the US, the inauguration of 46th President of the United States Joe Biden and his Vice-President Kamala Harris.
As a farewell gift, here are a couple of fresh takes from the ABC News team and the transcripts from two of today's memorable speeches:
- Key moments from the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris inauguration (including the meme-able ones)
- How the 'first and second families' have been sharing glimpses into their lives
- Joe Biden's inaugural speech as the new US President
- Amanda Gorman's powerful inauguration poem The Hill We Climb
I leave you with Amanda Gorman's hat tip:
For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.
Let's see if we can answer some more questions
By Lucy Sweeney
Is there a congratulatory message from Putin?
-Is There?
Not as such... and I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Relations between Russia and the US are not in great shape, but it's on the President's radar. Here's what White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said when she was asked about phone calls from foreign leaders in the briefing earlier today:
"I don't have any plans or any plans to read out for you in terms of a call with President Putin. I will note for you that I would expect his early calls will be with partners and allies. He feels it's important to rebuild those relationships and to address the challenges and threats we're facing in the world."
So it doesn't sound like a this week phone call.
During the term of Trump's presidency, where was Joe Biden? Was he a house member of the Congress?
-Curious
He left office in 2017, then launched a foundation with his wife Jill (the Biden Foundation, which raised money for various causes, but was wound down when he announced his return to politics). He also wrote a memoir, and then in 2019 he announced he was running for president.
Will Dr Fauci still be part of the team advising President Biden? He's been so strong and seems such a good resource judging by his appearances on CNN it would be a shame if he was sidelined now (again!)
Thanks, loving your work!
-Covid-Curious
Yep, Dr Anthony Fauci is sticking around.
First Dog(s)
By Lucy Sweeney
Lots of questions about Champ and Major Biden, the new canine residents of the White House. I live to give.
Do the FIDOs have their own Twitter? ...asking for a friend. Who wants constant doggie updates. Who is me.
-Nick (White Choccy Lobby)
No official blue tick account yet, though there are SEVERAL posing as Champ and Biden.
For the time being, best bet is to keep an eye on Jill Biden's accounts, most likely the existing @DrBiden but perhaps also @FLOTUS (though that's supposed to be used for official business). The President hasn't used his @JoeBiden account to share pics of the dogs in a little while but Jill has:
Are there really 2 FIDOs or is there just 1 FIDO and 1 SIDO, like with the Lady/Gentlemen spouses? And if so which one is First Doggie?
-Important Question
Technically both Champ and Major live with the Bidens, so I'm calling them joint FIDO. And if Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff had a dog it would be Second Dog (they don't, but the VP is fond of dogs).
What's (God) got to do, got to do with it?
By Lucy Sweeney
I'm still continuously surprised by how often god and religion is brought into American politics, including the inaugural prayer service. Has there ever been a president that wasn't Christian? If there has been, are they still required to attend prayer services?
-Curious
I'm going to go with the safe answer when it comes to US politics... it's just tradition.
Of course, presidents and vice-presidents don't have to be religious (in fact the constitution prohibits any kind of religious test as requirement for public office). But the vast majority have some religious affiliation.
Pew Research Center (linked above) names Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln as the only non-Christian presidents. Both were raised in religious households but didn't declare any formal affiliation.
As for the 46th President... Joe Biden is a Catholic, in fact he's the only the second Catholic president of the United States — the first was JFK. Biden talks a fair bit about his faith guiding his actions in public office.
Kamala Harris is a Baptist, and has also spoken openly about her Christian upbringing. Her husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish. Harris was sworn in today on two bibles, one owned by the first Black Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall, and the other belonging to a dear neighbour and "second mother" to Harris, Regina Shelton (I read this earlier today and must admit I teared up a little).
So in any case, faith seems to be an important part of both the President and Vice-President's lives.
Joe Biden's next big battle? Stopping the coronavirus pandemic
By Lucy Sweeney
Here's another long read for those of you looking for something to sink your teeth into. The ABC's Annika Blau and Casey Briggs have put their heads together to set out the major health and economic challenge facing the President.
They write:
Forget Biden vs Trump — it's Biden vs coronavirus from here on in.
The new President is acutely aware of the scale of the fight ahead of him. It took 12 weeks for the country to climb from 200,000 deaths to 300,000, but just over a month to leap to 400,000.
That link also includes a video explainer for anyone who'd prefer to watch and listen on this one.
Taking a closer look at Donald Trump's presidential pardons
By Lucy Sweeney
Has there been any further analysis done on the recent presidential pardons.
-Pardon?
This question was submitted a while ago now, but I've been waiting until we published this piece from Bridget Judd which covers the Trump administration's clemency picks and how do they compare to previous years.
Bridget spoke to Jared Mondschein, a senior research fellow at the United States Studies Centre, who said Donald Trump's clemency decisions were "unconventional" and "rejected the standard norms that other recent presidents had used".
He explained the real point of difference was not the number of pardons but how early — and to whom — they were issued.
"The Trump administration used the pardon power early and often for a number of diverse individuals," he said.
In response to resistance from both political spheres and the media, he said, clemency might have been viewed as "a political tool to make the base". Mondschein also said Trump's predecessors put more of a focus on "legacy building" with their approach to clemency.
Read the rest of Bridget Judd's piece on presidential pardons here.
Biden's letter to the WHO Secretary-General
By Lucy Sweeney
Among that list of executive orders Joe Biden signed first thing this afternoon was one to rejoin the World Health Organization.
Donald Trump had pulled the United States out of the global health body after accusing it of incompetence and bowing to Chinese pressure over the coronavirus.
Biden is retracting that withdrawal. Here's his letter to WHO Secretary-General António Guterres:
This letter constitutes a retraction by the Government of the United States of the letter dated July 6, 2020, notifying you that the Government of the United States intended to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), effective July 6, 2021. The United States intends to remain a member of the World Health Organization.
The WHO plays a crucial role in the world’s fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic as well as countless other threats to global health and health security. The United States will continue to be a full participant and a global leader in confronting such threats and advancing global health and health security.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
A brief meme break
By Lucy Sweeney
What are the best memes coming out of the inauguration (other than Bernie Sanders who is gonna top them all)
-Birb crimes
Oh I mean, if I must... (yes, the best ones are all Bernie ones and I will be taking no further questions at this time). I think Pete and Sophie already shared my favourite earlier today ("this could have been an email"), but look, there is plenty of gold.
There's also a lot of "Where's Barron Trump" memes riffing on Home Alone, but I'm leaving the lad out of this. (The answer to the question is, while he wasn't on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews with his siblings listening to his father's farewell speech, it's understood he did make it to Florida with his parents.)
Press schedule for the President and VP tomorrow
By Lucy Sweeney
It's just ticked past midnight in DC. I haven't got eyes on Joe Biden or Kamala Harris at the moment, but here's a look at their press schedules for January 21, US time.
Both President Biden and Vice-President Harris will attend an inaugural prayer service at 10:00am (that's 2:00am Friday AEDT), with First Lady and Second Gentleman in tow.
There's a briefing at 12:45pm and then Joe Biden will address the media on his administration's coronavirus response at 2:00pm.
Did someone order a JLo?
By Lucy Sweeney
Can we see video of JLo pretty please. I loved Lady Gaga performance, she is incredible and you could see the passion in her face.
-JLo Fan
I can do you one better and present all three inauguration performers together! Here's Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez AND Garth Brooks. (Skip to 1:54 if you want to get straight to JLo dropping a "Let's Get Loud" into the middle of This Land is Your Land/America The Beautiful...)
Department of Homeland Security pauses deportations for 100 days
By Lucy Sweeney
The Biden administration will pause some deportations for 100 days in order to ensure "fair and effective immigration enforcement" and focus on US-Mexico border security and the coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a memo just over an hour ago. It states:
"The United States faces significant operational challenges at the southwest border as it is confronting the most serious global public health crisis in a century.
"In light of those unique circumstances, the department must surge resources to the border in order to ensure safe, legal and orderly processing, to rebuild fair and effective asylum procedures that respect human rights and due process, to adopt appropriate public health guidelines and protocols, and to [prioritise] responding to threats to national security, public safety, and border security."
This is not a huge surprise, Joe Biden indicated there would be a moratorium on deportations when he was campaigning.
Speaking of Twitter, @POTUS has just started following a few accounts
By Lucy Sweeney
So along with the title and new digs, President Joe Biden inherited the @POTUS Twitter account at 12:01pm today. (We published a handy explainer yesterday afternoon on how and why this happens if you want more details.)
In the changeover, some followers are removed and the list of accounts @POTUS is following is also wiped clean. It looks like Biden's staff have begun rebuilding the list of accounts the 46th POTUS will officially follow. Here's a snippet:
They include a few official accounts including @VP, @FLOTUS, @WhiteHouse and @PressSec, but among the others... Chrissy Teigen!
Checking in with the newest senators
By Lucy Sweeney
Here's a tweet I missed earlier from Georgia senator Jon Ossof. He's one of the three newest senators sworn in by Vice-President Kamala Harris this afternoon, shortly after her inauguration.
Ossoff and fellow Georgian Raphael Warnock both won their seats in run-off elections just a few weeks ago. Alex Padilla was appointed by California's Governor to fill Harris's seat.
Let's get back into the questions
By Lucy Sweeney
Is the Inauguration ball usually televised? Or is there a special like this each inauguration for the public?
-Prime time
Yes, usually the public would see snippets of the inaugural ball. In other years you would have seen the president and first lady share a first dance together, performances from celebrities (as we did today in the Celebrating America special), and of course all the guests of honour would have changed into their evening wear, including ball gowns.
Where are the dogsss?? Where are Champ and Major? Are they in already?
-Son
My best guess is they're safe in their White House quarters already. But I'll keep an eye out for confirmation for you. (In case anyone else is wondering, Champ and Major are the Biden's two dog, unofficially now known as FIDOs — First Dogs).
China's sanctions 'play to partisan divides'
By Lucy Sweeney
Here's an update for you on the response to China's decision to impose sanctions against outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and 27 other top Trump officials.
I mentioned not long ago we'd heard from President Joe Biden's National Security Council on the matter. Here's what spokeswoman Emily Horne said.
"Imposing these sanctions on inauguration day is seemingly an attempt to play to partisan divides," NSC spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement to Reuters.
"Americans of both parties should criticise this unproductive and cynical move. President Biden looks forward to working with leaders in both parties to position America to out-compete China."
Pompeo, who unleashed a barrage of measures against China in his final weeks in office, declared on Tuesday that China had committed "genocide and crimes against humanity" against Uighur Muslims. The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded with sanctions, and called Pompeo "notorious for lying and cheating".
China has repeatedly rejected accusations of abuse in its Xinjiang region, where a United Nations panel has said at least 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims had been detained in camps.
Biden's choice to succeed Pompeo, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday he agreed with Pompeo's assessment.
More photos from the Celebrating America special
By Lucy Sweeney
Right, I've shoveled down some lunch and had a quick stretch so we're good to go. Here are a few more photos from the would-be inauguration ball.
And apologies for any recent images in the blog that have snuck through without alt text! I'm fixing those up now.
Take a look at the articles we've published today
By Lucy Sweeney
I'm going to take a big deep breath and reset. In the meantime, here are the main news stories, explainers and analysis columns we've published on today's inauguration of the 46th POTUS:
- Analysis by Greg Jennett: Joe Biden's inauguration was one big repudiation of Donald Trump's politics
- Joe Biden ends funds diverted to Mexico border wall as he signs his first executive orders
- Kamala Harris becomes first Black person, first Asian American sworn in as US Vice-President
- Donald Trump left Joe Biden a letter in the Oval Office. Here's what we know about it
- Donald Trump has pardoned the ex-husband of a Fox News host as his last act before leaving office
- Amanda Gorman recited powerful poem The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden's inauguration, here's the full transcript
- Joe Biden's megastar inauguration goes off as Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga deliver big performances
Katy Perry brings it home with the fireworks show
By Lucy Sweeney
With her hit song, yep, you guessed it... Firework.
Former presidents share a message for Joe Biden
By Lucy Sweeney
Still keeping that Celebrating America special on in the background. We just saw a tribute from three former presidents for the 46th. Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton stood together (socially distanced) to wish Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the best. Here's an excerpt from Obama:
"Joe I'm proud of you.
"You and Kamala need to know that you've got all of us here rooting for your success, keeping you in our prayers.
"We will be available in any way we can as citizens to help you guide our country forward."