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Donald Trump returns to the presidency

Donald Trump
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Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C.

President Trump declared his inauguration “Liberation Day,” vowing to make his last term in office the most consequential in American history.

During remarks in the Capitol Rotunda, Trump vowed to turn the page on American policy after years of criticizing former President Biden for policies that Trump said pushed the country into decline.

“We will move with purpose and speed to bring back hope, prosperity, safety and peace for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed,” Trump said. “For American citizens, January 20th, 2025 is Liberation Day.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to Trump. The president shook his hand and then shook hands with former president Biden. He then embraced first lady Melania Trump and his children standing nearby.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh administered the oath of office to vice president JD Vance. Vance's wife, Usha, and their three kids stood nearby, watching and smiling. Usha, a lawyer, spent a year clerking for Kavanaugh when he served as an appeals court judge in Washington, D.C.

President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office at noon followed by a presidential parade, signing ceremony and inaugural balls.

In his remarks, the president paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., acknowledging that his inauguration falls on MLK Day.

It came in a section of his inaugural address touting increases in votes from "virtually every element of our society" and thanking Black and Hispanic voters in particular for their "tremendous outpouring of love and trust."

"Today is Martin Luther King Day, and his honor, this will be a great honor, but in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality," Trump said, to loud rounds of applause. "We will make his dream come true."

The southern border

Trump promised to declare a national emergency at the southern U.S. border, which would unlock access to billions in federal funding for border security.

Presidents are able to use the National Emergencies Act to move money from one federal agency’s account to another without congressional approval. The measure is intended to assist presidents with resources in instances of emergency and not to serve as an alternative funding mechanism: setting the budget is the primary role of Congress.

Trump was also set to place a four-month pause on refugee resettlement and moving to end asylum for those who have entered the country without legal status.

“We are going to end asylum and close the border to illegals via proclamation, which creates an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum,” said a White House official on a call with reporters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss upcoming actions.

Details about the pause and the ban on asylum remain to be seen.

During his time in office, former President Joe Biden implemented his own policies to limit asylum claims. Last summer, he issued an executive order that allowed the processing of most asylum claims to be suspended when the seven-day average of unauthorized crossings breached 2,500 people.

Biden's final rule was even stricter. It mandated the suspension of asylum claims from those who cross between legal ports of entry when the seven day average is 1,500 crossings.

In Trump's first administration, he lowered the cap of refugees to 15,000, a historic low.

Sex and gender

Among the plans and priorities Trump announced in his inaugural address, he said "as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."

The Biden administration had recognized more than two genders in its policy actions.

The State Department, for example, updated passport applications to include an option for an "X" gender marker. In 2022, the administration allowed transgender and non-binary veterans to identify as such on their medical records.

According to a glossary of terms created by NPR with help from GLAAD:

Sex refers to a person's biological status and is typically assigned at birth, usually on the basis of external anatomy. Sex is typically categorized as male, female or intersex.

Gender is often defined as a social construct of norms, behaviors and roles that varies between societies and over time. Gender is often categorized as male, female or nonbinary.

While gender has traditionally been understood as either male or female, over time many people have come to recognize this as a binary. Many Americans identify as nonbinary, agender, gender-expansive or genderqueer.

Birthright citizenship

Trump was expected to kick-start the process to revoke birthright citizenship after years of proposing the constitutional change as a way to reduce undocumented immigration.

Birthright citizenship, meaning that someone born within the U.S. or its the United States territories is automatically a U.S. citizen, is currently protected by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The clause often referred to states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Trump wants to reinterpret the phrasing “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” to mean that the federal government would not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without legal status, incoming White House officials told reporters on a call on Monday.

This action is likely to see immediate legal challenges.

Details about who might be impacted or how he plans to move forward remain to be seen. He is expected to sign executive orders and actions Monday afternoon.

An estimated 4.7 million children have one or both parents without legal status as of 2019, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute. Immigrant rights advocates said the proposed move would affect the next generation of children.

“Ending birthright citizenship would be a really huge change in how we handle immigration and the right to belong in the United States,” said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, adding that this law contributes to the economic and educational success rates of immigrants’ children.

“Children of immigrants have had that sense of belonging and full rights in the United States that they've been able to harness to really support their integration.”

Over the last several decades, the number of babies born to parents who are unauthorized to be in the U.S. has dropped. Pew Research Center in 2016 estimated the number to be about 250,000, noting that was a 36% decrease from 2007.

Election security

One of the open questions as the U.S. heads into the second Trump term is how much the president's loss in 2020 will dominate his policy decisions regarding agencies like the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, which have various roles in investigating and protecting elections.

Trump's first speech as president this time around indicates a willingness to move on, now that he won the popular vote and an Electoral College sweep in 2024. In his inaugural address, Trump did not mention the 2020 election or any of the baseless stolen election accusations he made so frequently on the campaign trail.

Still, NPR has reported that so-called election integrity activists motivated by his previous fraud claims are still working behind the scenes to push for more restrictive voting policies in states across the country, and Republicans in Congress have already introduced legislation aimed at eliminating noncitizen voting, which was a leading conspiracy theory last year.

The Biden era's final moments

President Biden, in his final moments in office, pardoned several of his family members, saying that they have been “subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats” that he does not foresee ending.

He pardoned his brother, Francis Biden; his brother, James Biden; Sara Jones Biden, James’ wife; Valerie Biden Owens, his sister; and John Owens, Valerie's husband.

"I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics," Biden wrote in a statement that was released just minutes before President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office. "But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances."

The preemptive pardons follow others issued earlier today, to Dr. Anthony Fauci, members of the Jan. 6 select committee and others.

Late last year, President Biden also pardoned his son Hunter, who was convicted in June of federal gun charges for lying about his addiction to crack cocaine when he purchased a gun. Three months later, Hunter Biden entered a guilty plea to tax offenses.

In addition to the pardons to family members, Biden also commuted the life sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, convicted in 1977 of killing two FBI agents.

The Bidens' first stop after the inauguration was Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where they attended a brief sendoff ceremony.

Standing at a podium with the former first lady by his side, former President Joe Biden thanked his Cabinet members, staff, vice president and the second gentleman for all their help. He also thanked their family members for the sacrifices they made.

He received cheers and applause.

"Every day I'm deeply moved by what we did for this country," he said, though he emphasized that work is not done.

He referenced the inaugural address that Trump just gave, then said "we have a lot more to do" and crossed himself — a gesture NPR's Tamara Keith said he often utilizes when saying something "a little naughty."

Biden urged public servants to spend time with their loved ones and take care of themselves before getting back to work, touting their invaluable contributions.

"It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president," he said, calling it a "greater honor being able to serve with all of you."