ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty ImagesBy CATHERINE THORBECKE, IVAN PEREIRA and LIBBY CATHEY, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — It’s President-elect Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day. Outgoing President Donald Trump will be the first president in 152 years not to attend his successor’s inauguration.
Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern:
Jan 20, 7:40 am
Biden prepares to take office as Trump leaves Washington behind
Biden is waking up as president-elect at Blair House — across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, where in a matter of hours he will enter as the 46th president of the United States.
Assuming the office on his third try for the White House, Biden is assuming a busy schedule for his first day alongside soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris — who is making history as the first woman, first Black woman and first South Asian American to serve as the country’s second in command.
Biden and wife Jill Biden and Harris and husband Doug Emhoff — the nation’s first second gentlemen — will begin the morning with Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. In a show of unity, Biden extended invitations and is expected to be joined by bipartisan congressional leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The inaugural ceremonies, limited in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic, begin at 11:30 a.m. at a fortified U.S. Capitol — two weeks to the date pro-Trump supporters stormed the West Front steps. Harris will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ahead of Biden who will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts at noon, as 25,000 National Guard members patrol the Washington area.
After taking their oaths of office, Biden and Harris will head to Arlington National Cemetery and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, and President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton.
Sens.-elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California will also be sworn into office by the new vice president at an afternoon ceremony at the Capitol — triggering Democrats taking the majority in the Senate as Harris will cast tie-breaking votes as president of the Senate.
In the evening, Biden will sign executive orders in the Oval Office and swear in Day One appointees in a virtual ceremony. Biden and Harris are then scheduled to deliver remarks before 9 p.m. during the “Celebrating America” inaugural program and close off the night with a wave to the nation from the Blue Room Balcony.
Meanwhile, with their titles until noon, President Trump and first lady Melania Trump are scheduled to depart the White House around 8 a.m. for Palm Beach, Florida, on Air Force One with a “military-style send-off” for Trump as Joint Base Andrews, per his request. Though Trump’s presidency will soon be over, his presence will loom in Washington as he still faces a second impeachment trial in the Senate.
Jan 20, 5:02 am
Biden to sign 15 executive orders on Inauguration Day
President-elect Joe Biden will sign 15 executive actions on this first day as president — an increase in the number of executive orders initially previewed by incoming Chief of Staff Ron Klain this weekend and a show of force by Biden as he occupies the Oval Office.
The orders take aim at undoing much of President Trump’s signature and controversial actions during his four years as president including reversing the Muslim ban, stopping construction of the border wall, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and preserving the DACA program.
Incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki stressed that while Biden’s actions would directly address some actions taken under Trump, the focus of Biden’s Inauguration Day work will be looking ahead.
“His focus is on moving the country forward and that will be thematic tomorrow and in all of the actions he’s taking,” she said, adding that Biden will sign the executive orders in the Oval Office and the text of the orders will be released after they’re signed.
On a call with reporters Tuesday night, several of Biden’s top policy advisors, including COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zeints; incoming National Economic Council director, Brian Deese; incoming White House Domestic Climate Policy Director Gina McCarthy; incoming White House Domestic Policy Council Director Ambassador Susan Rice; and incoming national security adviser to the president, Jake Sullivan, spoke about the specific actions Biden will take on his first day.
Biden’s team emphasized that the actions listed on the call were not comprehensive of all executive actions Biden planned to take in his early days in office.
One of Biden’s orders will direct his Secretary of Homeland Security to take all legal actions to preserve and fortify DACA. This follows ABC reporting that Biden will be sending Congress a policy that includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for immigrants with no legal status and expanding admissions for refugees into the U.S.
Biden will also rescind the Trump Administration’s 1776 Commission and revoke Trump’s executive order that limited federal agencies from implementing diversity and inclusion training.
His order will also task the Office of Management and Budget with investing in underserved communities and communities of color.
And following last summer’s landmark SCOTUS case that protects LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination, another EO plans to build off of that to ensure the federal government interprets Title VII and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by this decision.
The COVID-19 pandemic is also a Day One issue and Biden will sign an order implementing his mask requirement in federal buildings and on federal land, as part of launching his “100 Days Mask Challenge,” which asks Americans to mask up for that time period.
Biden also plans to rejoin the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on his first day in office and encourage federal agencies to review and appropriately address federal actions taken under the Trump administration, including revoking the Keystone pipeline permit.
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