Pinned
Newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and halting future U.S. funding to the United Nations organization.
“In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO,” the Trump executive order stated.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has voted to move forward with John Ratcliffe’s nomination to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The select committee voted 14–3 in a closed hearing on Jan. 20 to recommend that the Senate take a full vote to confirm Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe could become the second of President Donald Trump’s appointees to be confirmed, following the approval of Marco Rubio for Secretary of State in a 99–0 vote on Jan. 20.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has followed through on his vows to move swiftly in pardoning almost all of those charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol—a group he referred to as “J6 hostages.”
After leaving the Capital One Arena late on Jan. 20, he went back to the Oval Office and pardoned roughly 1,500 individuals involved in the breach while commuting sentences of 14 individuals still serving time.
Trump had reiterated his pledges at the Capitol earlier in the day soon after his inauguration.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted on Jan. 20 to advance two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet-level nominees, Kristi Noem for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary and Russ Vought for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director.
The committee advanced Noem’s nomination on a 13-2 vote.
Vought’s nomination advanced through the committee by an 8-7 vote.
The Senate unanimously approved the nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as secretary of state on Jan. 20, making him the first of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks to receive the green light on Inauguration Day.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the committee, said he encourages anyone who wants a clear understanding of U.S. foreign policy to watch Rubio’s testimony.
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted along party lines on Jan. 20 to advance President Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth to a full Senate floor vote.
The committee voted 14–13 to advance Hegseth’s nomination.
The Senate unanimously approved the nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as secretary of state on Jan. 20, making him the first of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks to receive the green light on Inauguration Day.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the committee, said he encourages anyone who wants a clear understanding of U.S. foreign policy to watch Rubio’s testimony.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order withdrawing the United States again from the Paris climate accord.
The order mandates the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to notify the U.N. secretary-general of the withdrawal.
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, vowed not to back down as he prepares for what could be a difficult Senate confirmation process.
Addressing thousands of Trump supporters at Capital One Arena in Washington, Patel promised not to quit in his efforts to “end the two-tier system of justice” in the United States.
Multiple lawsuits were filed against the Trump administration regarding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as President Donald Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20.
After his election win in November 2024, Trump announced he would set up DOGE with co-chairs Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump tapped the two business titans to head DOGE, a nongovernmental task force assigned to find ways to terminate federal workers, cut programs, and slash federal regulations. The three have said they want to cut as much as $2 trillion in government spending.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 20 congratulated President Donald Trump on becoming the 47th president of the United States and said he looks forward to talks on the Russia–Ukraine war that would lead to lasting peace rather than just a temporary cease-fire.
“We congratulate Donald Trump on entering the office,” Putin said during a meeting of Russia’s Security and Defense Council.
“Moscow is open for dialogue with the United States that will be built on an equal and mutually respectful basis.”
Usha Vance wait for former President Joe Biden and Jill Biden to depart from the US Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
WASHINGTON—Donald Trump, inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States, called for a “revolution of common sense” as he began a historic non-consecutive second term.
“I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success. A tide of change is sweeping the country,” Trump said in his inaugural address.
“My message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of history’s greatest civilization.”
Former President Joe Biden’s final act as president was to preemptively pardon several members of his family.
The sweeping pardon covers the president’s brother, James B. Biden; sister-in-law, Sara Jones Biden; sister, Valerie Biden Owens; brother-in-law, John T. Owens; and brother, Francis W. Biden. The pardons were announced minutes before President Donald Trump was sworn in.
“The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,” Biden said in a statement.
President-elect Donald Trump will not impose new tariffs on day one of his new term in office. Instead, he will sign a memorandum directing federal agencies to investigate unfair trade practices by foreign countries and recommend associated trade policies.
The memo singles out China for a review of its compliance with the 2020 Phase One trade deal and includes an assessment of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement trade pact, which is up for renewal in 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Previously, Trump has repeatedly said he would impose 10 percent additional tariffs on all goods imported from China and 25 percent on those from Canada and Mexico.
Outgoing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both made their final posts on social media on Monday ahead of the inauguration ceremony for the 47th president, Donald Trump.
The two posts both featured a portrait of Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Harris, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Ending federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and declaring that there are only two sexes were among President-elect Donald Trump’s first actions after he was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, according to incoming White House officials.
The Trump administration will define a female as “a person belonging at conception to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell,” with the large reproductive cell being an egg cell or ovum.
Notably, the definition does not rely on chromosomes—a fact that should clear up confusion regarding intersex individuals, who may have an irregular combination of chromosomes.
President Donald Trump issued 10 executive actions on border security Monday evening, including one declaring a national emergency at the U.S. southern border that will pave the way for military deployment.
After taking the oath of office, Trump described big changes coming to the U.S.–Mexico border.
President-elect Donald Trump will sign “close to 100” executive orders in the hours after taking office, including the declaration of “a national energy emergency” with an “Unleash American Energy” executive order and a corresponding slate of policy directives and actions designed to animate his “drill baby drill” energy agenda.
During a call, a White House official confirmed Trump would declare a national energy emergency because “the high costs of energy are unnecessary.”
“They are by design. It is a cause of policy. We can address that,” the official said.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greeted President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, as they pulled up in front of the White House for tea.
The outgoing first lady was dressed in a deep purple coat and gloves—potentially as a symbol of unity as the nation transitions to a new administration.
President Joe Biden on Jan. 20 issued preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, ret. Gen. Mark Milley, and people who served on the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Biden is also issuing preemptive pardons to law enforcement officers who testified to the House panel.
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden said in a statement, alleging that the individuals for whom he issued the pardons “do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”
President-elect Donald J. Trump returns to the White House as a seasoned executive intent on ending a decades-long approach to governance in ways that could reshape the presidency and the country well into the future.
Trump plans an about-face from the expansion of domestic programs and regulations and globalist foreign policy of the post-Cold War era. Instead, he’ll govern by an “America First” doctrine focused on border security, deregulation, energy production, and strategic engagement with other nations.
To achieve that, he proposes a further expansion of presidential power and a reduction of the size and authority of the federal bureaucracy.
President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the country’s 47th president on Jan. 20 in an event that will include welcoming ceremonies from business and global leaders and feature extravagant celebrations from well-known performers.
After weather forecasts predicted temperatures as low as 22 degrees Fahrenheit during the time Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance are set to take the oath of office, the swearing-in ceremony was moved inside the Capitol rotunda. This will be the first time a commander-in-chief has been inaugurated indoors since President Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second term 40 years ago.
The musical performers include country music stars Carrie Underwood and Lee Greenwood, tenor Christopher Macchio, and the Village People. Among the business moguls planning to attend Trump’s inauguration are Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Sunday, the eve of Inauguration Day, at the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington.
At the “Make America Great Again” victory rally, Trump offered a preview of the actions he would take upon being sworn in on Jan. 20 as the 47th president of the United States.
“We won,” Trump said, before beginning his speech.
How to Watch
The Epoch Times and its sister media NTD Television will host live coverage of Trump’s inauguration on The Epoch Times website and NTD’s website starting at 9 a.m. ET.When Is It Being Held?
The swearing-in ceremony is slated to begin just before 12 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 20, which is Martin Luther King Day, according to the National Park Service.“The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3rd day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin,” it reads in full.
After years of applying the progressive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ideological framework to their corporations, executives appear to now be realizing that these programs could be driving their companies into a legal and financial wall.
The past year has seen a growing list of Fortune 500 companies announcing that they are dropping race- and gender-based programs for their employees and pulling out of global net zero climate clubs.
Companies that have announced they are canceling or dialing back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs include Meta, Walmart, Ford, McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Tractor Supply Company, Lowe’s, Molson Coors, Nissan, Toyota, and Stanley Black & Decker.
President-elect Donald Trump said on Jan. 19 that he is asking tech companies to keep social media platform TikTok online and would sign an executive order postponing the federal ban of the social media website in the United States.
Trump’s announcement was made as millions of U.S. users found they could no longer access the TikTok app or platform.
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden took office amid one of the most sweeping public health crises in the nation’s history, promising to “restore the soul” of the country and bring unity. As his term comes to an end, his presidency has been met with a mix of praise and criticism, leaving behind a divided legacy.
In his inaugural address in 2021, Biden described the moment as a “winter of peril and possibility.” Four years later, in his farewell speech to the nation on Jan. 15, he expressed pride in his administration’s achievements.
“I’ve kept my commitment to be president for all Americans through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history,” Biden said, reflecting on the successes and challenges of his tenure.