Trump returning to power after unprecedented comeback, emboldened to reshape American institutions

Frigid weather is rewriting the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.

“We needed a change. The country was going in the wrong direction in so many ways, economically, geopolitically, so many social issues at home,” sad Joe Morse, 56, of New Jersey, who got in line with his sons at 11 p.m. Sunday and secured a spot on the main floor at Capitol One Arena to watch a livestream of the swearing-in.

Trump, who spent Saturday and Sunday night at Blair House across from the White House, began the day alongside much of his incoming Cabinet with a prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. He and his wife, Melania, were greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception. It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.

“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car.

The two men and their spouses will head to the Capitol in a joint motorcade ahead of the swearing-in.

When Trump takes the oath of office at noon, he will realize a political comeback without precedent in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.

But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.

“I am ready for a new United States,” said Cynde Bost, 63, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Now Trump will be the first person convicted of a felony — for falsifying business records related to hush money payments — to serve as president. He will pledge to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. He’s said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.

Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision. Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.

He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.

Hours before the inauguration, outgoing President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons to current and former government officials who have been the target of Trump’s anger, shielding them from the possibility of prosecution. Biden said in a statement that “these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”

Trump has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country’s political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Trump. Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Trump or defy him. Billionaires have lined up to meet with Trump as they acknowledge his unrivaled power in Washington and ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.

Long skeptical of American alliances, Trump’s “America First” foreign policy is being watched warily at home and abroad as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year and a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

At the Capitol, Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother. Trump will follow, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administers his oath.

The inaugural festivities began Saturday, when Trump arrived in Washington on a government jet and viewed fireworks at his private golf club in suburban Virginia. On Sunday, he laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and rallied his supporters at Washington’s downtown Capital One Arena.

A cadre of billionaires and tech titans who have sought to curry favor with Trump and have donated handsomely to his inaugural festivities, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, will be in attendance.

Also present will be the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the U.S. Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.

At his Sunday rally, Trump teased dozens of coming executive actions, promising that “by the time the sun sets” on Monday he will have signed executive orders involving border security and immigration policy.

Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crackdown on the southern border — again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the U.S. and deploying the military. But this time he plans executive actions pairing previous moves with additional — and constitutionally questionable — ones, including attempting to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the U.S.

Trump will also sign an executive order aimed at ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. The order will direct federal agencies to coordinate with the White House on identifying and terminating DEI programs. Conservatives have long criticized programs that give preference based on race, gender and sexual orientation, arguing they violate the Constitution.

Others orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Biden’s recent directive on artificial intelligence.

More changes are planned for the federal workforce. Trump wants to unwind diversity, equity and inclusion programs known as DEI, require employees to come back to the office and lay the groundwork to reduce staff.

“Expect shock and awe,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

“What I’ve been urging the president, and my colleagues, to do is stay laser-focused on delivering on our promises,” Cruz said. “And that’s what I expect that we’re going to do.”

With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming Trump administration on legislation that will further roll back Biden administration policies and institute their own priorities.

“The president is going to come in with a flurry of executive orders,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “And we are going to be working alongside the administration and in tandem.”

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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro, and AP writers Josh Boak, Lindsey Bahr, Will Weissert and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian And Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Trump returning to power after unprecedented comeback, emboldened to reshape American institutions

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