WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will be 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, will begin at noon ET. But festivities will start earlier when the incoming president arrives for service at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Here's the latest:
Former vice presidents have arrived
Dan Quayle and Mike Pence arrived on the platform with a standing ovation from members of both the House and Senate.
CEOs have better seats than Trump’s Cabinet members
The CEOs of Meta, X, and Amazon sat in front of the president-elect’s entire Cabinet — a nod to the importance Trump has given the heads of some of the most powerful companies and social media platforms over his agency heads.
Some of the nation’s most powerful tech titans are at the Capitol
Vocal Trump ally Elon Musk, the owner of Telsa and the social platform X, was seen along with Google’s Sundar Pichai and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos.
Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook were also in the audience.
The capacity shrunk significantly when the ceremony was moved indoors due to cold temperatures.
Musk has also been tapped by Trump to help lead an outside government group called the Department of Government Efficiency to slash bureaucracy.
All 9 Supreme Court justices are at the Capitol
The entire court entered, led by Roberts. Retired Justice Stephen Breyer also is there.
Pence and the Clintons get booed in arena
The crowd in the arena is not discriminate with their cheers — anything from a man holding a “Joe Biden You’re Fired” sign to a shot of Rudy Giuliani has inspired enthusiastic applause — but a rare boo erupted from the crowd at the sigh of Mike Pence walking into the rotunda.
Trump has entered the Capitol with Biden
Congressional leaders arrive at the Capitol
Asked how he felt today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Feel great about the Bills.”
The New Yorker had a royal blue cap in hand. The House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said it’s “bright, sunny outside and bright in our heart.” Johnson said he expects “a lot” of executive orders from Trump. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries smiled and waved but declined comment.
“Feel great,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance arrive at the Capitol ahead of their inauguration
Getting their selfies in while they can
Biden and Trump share a limo
Both men shared the same vehicle, along with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, chair of the bipartisan Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Biden and Trump have been the bitterest of rivals for years. But the outgoing and incoming president taking the same vehicle to the inauguration ceremony keeps with political traditions.
President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are exiting
They left the White House after spending about 35 minutes in a private meeting.
Flags are up at the Capitol
Flags that had been lowered for the passing of former President Jimmy Carter are back up at the U.S. Capitol.
House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the flags raised for Trump’s inauguration.
Second gentleman heads to the Capitol
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff has exited the White House with Usha Vance, wife of vice president-elect JD Vance, to go to the Capitol.
Sports celebrities and business figures alike crowd into the Capitol’s visitor center
The attendees, which include the CEO of TikTok, made their way into the Capitol’s visitor center to watch the inauguration ceremonies on a large screen.
Evander Holyfield, Danica Patrick, Conor McGregor, Jake Paul and his brother Logan Paul have all made their way into a large area called the Emancipation Hall.
The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, is also there. He struck up a conversation with Logan Paul, who is a social media influencer and professional boxer.
As Trump enters the White House a second time, some celebrities and business leaders have sought closer relationships than during Trump’s first term.
Trump is already proving he is a valuable ally to have — the incoming president intervened this weekend in an attempt to halt a ban on TikTok.
Seeing red
House Republican women arrived at the Rotunda wearing various shades of red, a nod to the GOP’s signature hue. Similarly, Republican men wore ties ranging from dark red to orange as they took their seats.
Harris and Biden make final posts on X
“It has been the honor of our lifetimes to serve you, the American people,” the vice president and president wrote in identical posts Monday morning on the social platform X.
The posts both featured a portrait of Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
3 former Republican Speakers of the House are present
Newt Gingrich, John Boehner and Kevin McCarthy are in the Capitol Rotunda for the inauguration.
The last Democratic Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has said she is not attending the ceremony.
French billionaire Bernard Arnault joined others at the church service
Arnault, who heads the LVMH fashion empire and is France’s richest man, was sitting a few rows back and to the left of Trump and his wife, Melania, wearing a dark suit and tie.
LVMH’s many brands include Louis Vuitton and Dior, and its influence and Arnault’s wealth make the lowkey billionaire a powerful figure.
LVMH had a stellar year in France last year, especially as a high-profile sponsor of the Paris Olympics. Arnault also was a key donor toward the reconstruction of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral after its fire in 2019 and attended the monument’s reopening — along with Trump — last December.
Biden says he wrote a letter to Trump
It’s become tradition for the outgoing president to write a letter to his successor and leave it in the drawer of the Oval Office desk for the new president to find.
Biden declined to say what he said in the note. Trump wrote Biden a note four years ago.
Pence is attending today’s inauguration ceremony
“This is a day when every American does well to celebrate our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States,” the former vice president wrote in a post on the social platform X.
“We encourage all our fellow Americans to join us praying for President Trump and Vice President Vance as they assume the awesome responsibility of leading this great Nation,” he added.
Trump and Pence once had a close relationship, but had a falling out when Pence refused to go along with Trump’s unconstitutional scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Pence ran against Trump in the GOP primary but dropped his bid before any votes were cast.
The Trumps have arrived at the White House
They met the Bidens on a gold-trimmed red carpet, exchanging greetings and posing for photos ahead of a private meeting over tea and coffee.
“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car.
Biden wrapped his hand around Trump’s upper arm to escort him inside the mansion.
Biden welcomes Trump at the White House for a preinaugural tea, restoring traditions around peaceful transfer of power
Serving up the inaugural lunch menu
Chesapeake Crab Cake, Greater Omaha Angus Ribeye Steak and wine from Monticello are on the menu for the inaugural luncheon.
That’s according to the joint congressional committee on inauguration ceremonies headed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
It says the luncheon after the swearing-in ceremony is the 11th to be held at the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall, and will include more than 200 guests including the president, vice president, family, U.S. Supreme Court justices, Cabinet Member-designees and members of Congressional leadership.
For dessert, there’s Minnesota Apple Ice Box Terrine with sour cream ice cream and salted caramel.
Inauguration ceremony begins in the Capitol Rotunda
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Combined Choirs kicked off the inaugural ceremonies Monday with a musical prelude. The students wore all black with a red scarf embossed with their university logo.
Their voices echoed into the Capitol dome where in just a few hours Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President.
JD Vance arrives at the White House
Outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris greeted the vice president-elect when he arrived.
Usually, only the president-elect comes to the White House on Inauguration Day before the swearing-in.
Harris and Vance have not yet had a formal one-on-one meeting after the outgoing vice president did not invite him to visit the official residence on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Harris and Vance were accompanied by their spouses and all shook hands and posed for a picture.
Trump leaves church for White House
Trump has left St. John’s Episcopal Church after a prayer service ahead of the inauguration.
He and his wife, Melania, are next expected to be welcomed by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, where they will share tea and coffee at the White House.
The private meeting is another presidential transition tradition.
It’s a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.
The service concludes with congregants singing ‘America the Beautiful’
The Trumps held hands as they filed out of the church and the president-elect nodded and offered smiles to the churchgoers as he exited the sanctuary.
Best seats in the house
Hours before Trump and Vance are expected to be inaugurated, seats designated for Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson and others were among the closest to the platform where Trump will be taking the oath of office.
Even Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, had a better seat than the majority of House and Senate lawmakers.
Harris arrives at the White House
Biden and first lady Jill Biden greeted the vice president and her husband Doug Emhoff at the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the White House.
Trump will issue series of executive orders designed to remake immigration policies; they face legal, logistical hurdles
Prayer offered for Trump
The prayer for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance asked that God give them “wisdom and strength to know and to do.”
Trump tells supporters to ‘never ever, ever give up’ in new video
Trump’s team released the video online on Monday ahead of his swearing-in and it portrays him as an outsider who overcame his legal problems to win a comeback to the White House, ushering in a new chapter for America.
The video stitches together footage of his courthouse appearances for his criminal trial last year, his mug shot from another criminal case in Georgia and images of prosecutors and judges involved in some of the other cases he faced, along with images of his visits to UFC matches, his campaign and the Republican National Convention.
In a voice-over, Trump tells his supporters they have to “never ever, ever give up” and “treat the word impossible as nothing more than motivation.”
The video was first reported by Fox News Digital.
Pastor gives a welcome to service attendees
“Having the cameras off is a gift. The rest of the day will be very public,“ he said.
Trump enters church for service ahead of inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump has entered St. John’s Episcopal Church with his wife, Melania, for a service ahead of the inauguration, taking part in a long presidential tradition.
The Trumps spent the night at Blair House and will head to the White House for a coffee and tea with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden following the service.
US flag atop White House flying at half-staff
Biden had ordered that flags at federal facilities be lowered for 30 days out of respect for Jimmy Carter. The former president died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
Many governors also lowered the flag on state buildings.
But Trump complained that flags at the U.S. Capitol would fly at half-staff when he takes the oath of office to begin his second term.
Many Republican governors since have said the flag will be raised for the inauguration and lowered again afterward to respect Carter.
The White House had said Biden would not consider reversing or reevaluating the flag order.
Guests arrive at St. John’s Episcopal Church for Inauguration Day service
Elon Musk and several of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks are already in the pews awaiting his arrival and the start of the service at the historic church on Lafayette Square.
Among the other guests are Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio, Argentina President Javier Milei and the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump