Donald Trump's inauguration day: Venue, attendees, all that we can expect

Donald Trump will take the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT)

Donald Trump, Trump
Trump has broken with precedent and invited several foreign leaders to the ceremony
Reuters WASHINGTON
5 min read Last Updated : Jan 20 2025 | 4:08 PM IST
Donald Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States on Monday, ushering in his second term in office and capping one of the most astounding political comebacks in American history. 
Inauguration Day is, by tradition, largely dedicated to pomp and circumstance. One president leaves the White House, and another moves in. But Trump also has pledged to sign a flurry of executive orders on subjects ranging from border security to oil and gas production on his first day in office. 
Here is what we know about Inauguration Day: 
WHEN IS THE INAUGURATION?
Trump will take the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT). It was originally due to take place in front of the US Capitol but will now take place inside the congressional complex because of bitter cold. 
Trump will then deliver his inaugural address. In interviews, he has said he intends it to be uplifting and unifying. That would mark a departure from his first Inauguration Day speech in 2017, which detailed a broken country 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, a Republican, did not afford him four years earlier. 
Country music star Carrie Underwood is scheduled to perform at the swearing-in ceremony. 
WHO IS INVITED?
Trump has broken with precedent and invited several foreign leaders to the ceremony. Historically, they have not attended the inauguration due to security concerns and have sent diplomats in their stead. 
Argentina's president, Javier Milei, a strong supporter of Trump's, has said he will attend, according to reports. 
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said she hopes to attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping is not attending, despite an invitation, but is sending a senior envoy. 
Trump adviser Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, are also attending. 
PARADE TO THE WHITE HOUSE
The temperatures have also forced organizers to scrap a planned parade down Pennsylvania Avenue of military regiments, school marching bands, floats and citizens' groups. The parade will now take place at the 20,000-seat Capital One Arena in downtown Washington. 
GETTING TO WORK
During a rally on Sunday, Trump said he would sign a number of executive actions on Monday covering a range of issues, from ending government programs aimed at ensuring gender and racial diversity in the workplace to securing the southern border with Mexico. 
A source familiar with the planning said Trump is preparing to sign more than 200 executive actions on Day One. 
The actions will focus in large part on border security. 
Among them are directives to classify drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations," declare an emergency at the US-Mexico border and move toward reinstatement of the "Remain in Mexico" policy which forces non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their US court dates.    Also read: Donald Trump swearing-in ceremony: When & where to watch live inauguration?  
He is expected to sign orders that give immigration officers more latitude to arrest migrants with no criminal records, send more troops to the US-Mexico border and restart construction of a border wall. 
The orders will include a drive to increase fossil fuel production and follow through on Trump's oft-stated campaign vow to "drill, baby, drill." 
Trump said on Sunday he would issue a wave of pardons for defendants convicted for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. 
Trump also said he would restore TikTok's access to the US market on Monday. 
PARTIES AND A RALLY
There will be at least 18 inaugural galas held throughout Washington over the weekend and Monday, three of which are considered official and which Trump is expected to attend. 
On Sunday, the eve of the inauguration, Trump held a campaign-style "Make America Great Again Victory Rally" at the Capital One Arena. It was Trump's first rally in the District of Columbia since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. 
On Monday, Meta's Zuckerberg will co-host a reception for billionaire Republican donors along with casino magnate Miriam Adelson and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, Trump's pick for ambassador to Italy. 
Oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm, a top Trump donor, will host an inauguration watch party on Monday on the roof of the historic Hay-Adams hotel near the White House. 
WHO COVERS THE COSTS?
The official events are financed by Trump's inauguration committee, which is chaired by longtime Trump allies Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer who is Trump's pick to be his Middle East envoy, and Kelly Loeffler, a former US senator and Trump's choice to head the Small Business Administration. 
The committee will be responsible for covering the costs of everything but the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, which is borne by taxpayers. 
Bezos and Zuckerberg pledged to donate $1 million each to the committee, as have Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, have each donated $1 million to the fund. 
Trump raised a record $106.7 million for his 2017 inauguration festivities. His committee has raised more than $170 million this time, according to media reports. 
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
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Topics :Trump Inauguration 2025Donald Trump administrationUS President Donald TrumpUS immigrationUS Capitol

First Published: Jan 20 2025 | 8:38 AM IST

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