Written by James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on Monday, beginning his second term and capping one of the most remarkable political comebacks in American history.
Inauguration Day, by tradition, is largely reserved for pomp and circumstance. One president leaves the White House, and another moves in. But Trump, a Republican, also pledged to sign a series of executive orders on topics ranging from border security to oil and gas production on his first day in office.
Here's what we know about Inauguration Day so far:
When is it opening?
Trump will take the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, at 12 noon EST (1700 GMT). It was originally scheduled to be held in front of the US Capitol building, but it will now be held inside the Congress complex due to the extreme cold.
Trump will then deliver his inauguration speech. He has said in interviews that he intends it to be uplifting and unifying. This 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, said he planned to attend the ceremony and watch the transfer of power, a courtesy Trump did not extend to him four years ago.
Country music star Carrie Underwood is scheduled to perform at the swearing-in ceremony, according to a copy of the official program seen by Reuters.
Who is invited?
Trump broke 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.
Argentine President Javier Miley, a staunch Trump supporter, said he would attend, according to reports.
Another Trump supporter, Hungarian President Viktor Orban, will not attend the conference, his spokesman said this week. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she hoped to attend. Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend, despite the invitation, but will send a high-level envoy.
Also attending are Trump adviser Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:) and SpaceX, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon (NASDAQ:) and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:).
Parade to the White House
The temperatures also forced organizers to cancel a planned parade on Pennsylvania Avenue for military regiments, school bands, floats and citizen groups. The show will now be held for 20,000 seats Capital One (NYSE:) arena in downtown Washington.
Getting to work
Two sources familiar with the planning said Trump is preparing a torrent of executive orders and directives that could total more than 100 starting on Day One.
He is expected to sign orders giving immigration officials more freedom to detain immigrants without criminal records, sending more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, and resuming border wall construction.
The orders will include a push to increase energy production and follow through on Trump's oft-stated campaign pledge to “drill, baby, drill.”
Trump is also likely to issue a first wave of pardons to defendants convicted of participating in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Parties and assembly
There will be at least 18 inaugurations across Washington over the weekend and Monday, three of which are considered official and Trump is expected to attend.
On Sunday, the eve of his inauguration, Trump is scheduled to hold a “Make America Great Again Victory” campaign-style rally at Capital One Arena.
Such an event would likely help motivate thousands of Trump supporters to pack the city for the inaugural festivities. This will be Trump's first rally in the District of Columbia since the January 6, 2021 incident.
On Monday, Meta's Zuckerberg will co-host a reception for billionaire Republican donors alongside casino tycoon Miriam Adelson and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, Trump's pick for ambassador to Italy.
Oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm, a major donor to Trump, will host an inauguration on Monday on the roof of the historic Hay Adams Hotel near the White House.
Who covers the costs?
The official events are being funded by Trump's inauguration committee, which is chaired by longtime Trump allies Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer whom Trump chose to be his envoy to the Middle East, and Kelly Loeffler, the former U.S. senator whom Trump chose to head the small committee. Business Administration.
The committee will be responsible for covering the costs of everything except the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, which will be borne by taxpayers.
Bezos and Zuckerberg pledged to donate $1 million each to the committee, as did Apple (NASDAQ:) CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Uber (NYSE:) and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, each donated $1 million to the fund.
Trump raised a record $106.7 million at his inauguration in 2017. His committee raised more than $170 million this time, according to media reports.
