Inauguration Day: Live updates on the swearing-in of the 46th U.S. President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Vice President Kamala Harris was also sworn in as the first woman of color to take the office. The were joined by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, several former presidents, lawmakers, and others. Here are the latest updates on Inauguration Day.
4:00 p.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff walked down Pennsylvania Avenue with their family members — including Harris’s grandnieces, Amara and Leela Ajagu.
Harris waved to the crowd as she held Emhoff’s hand before ascending the steps of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, home to the Office of the Vice President of the United States.
3:20 p.m.
Members of the Honor Guard marched down Pennsylvania Avenue for a Inauguration Day parade devoid of cheering crowds — but President Joe Biden still took a few moments to greet reporters on the sidelines, telling them he “feels good.”
“I feel good, I feel great,” he quickly told a throng of journalists, giving them a fist pump as he rejoined First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and his family.
The president later embraced Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser before making his way to the White House steps.
The virtual “Parade Across America” included people from all 50 states and six U.S. territories.
3:12 p.m.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos the message of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists “got flushed out today” with the swearing-in of President Joe Biden and his inauguration message to the American people.
“He was talking about us, he was talking about our values. He’s talking about what makes us great,” said Powell, who served under former Republican President George W. Bush but has since left the GOP.
“He was talking about the history of our great country,” he continued He didn’t go into, you know, what the federal taxes are going to be, or any foreign policy issues. It was a proper tone for today, because it puts us in perspective, we’re Americans, we have a great country.”
“[Biden is] going to put us on the track that we’re supposed to be on.”
2:45 p.m.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take part in the wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, where about 400,000 military veterans and their eligible dependents are buried.
Former President Obama, former President George W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton, along with former First Lady Michelle Obama, former First Lady Laura Bush, and former U.S. Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton were also in attendance.
2:20 p.m.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos Wednesday that Biden can be the most progressive president since FDR — but he must show the global community that he can take on the many crises that Americans face.
“We got to show the world we can walk and chew bubblegum, [that] we can do more than one thing at the same time, because people are hurting,” he said. “Families are going hungry, people are worried about being evicted. People are worried about being able to afford to go to the doctor, we’ve got to respond to that pain.”
Stephanopoulos asked Sanders if he still thinks Biden can be the most progressive president since FDR, referring to a comment Sanders made last year.
“Is that possible in a 50-50 Senate?” Stephanopoulos added.
“Absolutely it is, it’s possible,” Sanders said.
2:09 p.m.
The nation’s top doctor, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, resigned Wednesday at the request of President Biden as the new administration seeks to make a clean break from ex-President Trump’s bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Adams, a trailblazer whose reputation suffered by his association with Trump’s mercurial leadership, sought to take the high road on the way out the door as the nation’s top doctor.
2:00 p.m.
President Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff descend the U.S. Capitol’s East Front steps for the Pass in Review, where Biden and Harris review the military troops before leading a procession of ceremonial military regiments, marching bands, citizens’ groups and floats down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
They are now headed to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
1:50 p.m.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi gifts President Joe Biden the American flag that was flown when he was sworn in earlier today.
“May it reflect all that is said about your inauguration: America united,” she said. “May it be a symbol of the hope, the healing, and just all of the enthusiasm yo have for our country.”
The Bidens were also presented with a painting from U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were both presented with inaugural portraits of the swearing in-ceremony.
1:45 p.m.
Poet Amanda Gorman is continuing to draw widespread praise for her work “The Hill We Climb,” which she recited at President Biden’s inauguration.
“We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it, would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy,” she recited. “And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, tt can never be permanently defeated.”
The 22-year-old is the youngest inaugural poet in American history.
1:34 p.m.
President Biden signed three documents in the President’s Room at the U.S. Capitol, officials said. Biden signed an Inauguration Day Proclamation, nominations to Cabinet positions and nominations to sub-Cabinet positions.
1:32 p.m.
President Biden and Vice President Harris are expected to visit Arlington National Cemetery later today. They will be joined by several other former presidents and their families to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
12:55 p.m.
President Biden posts his first tweet on his personal Twitter account after taking office.
Now the real work begins, folks. Follow along at @POTUS as we build back better. pic.twitter.com/fHViqSqwp2
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 20, 2021
“Now the real work begins, folks. Follow along at @POTUS as we build back better,” he wrote, linking to his new presidential Twitter account.
On his @POTUS account, Biden tweeted, “There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face. That’s why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families.”
Vice President Harris also tweeted “Ready to serve” just after 12 p.m.
12:50 p.m.
A photo of a bundled U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders at the inauguration — his legs crossed, mittened-hands folded, slouching in his seat — begins to circulate on social media.
Bernie about to bounce before that parking lot becomes a nightmare. pic.twitter.com/FpuTpB9tfp
— Aubrey O'Day (@AubreyODay) January 20, 2021
“Bernie about to bounce before that parking lot becomes a nightmare,” says one tweet with the accompanying photo.
“This could have been an email,” another tweet says.
12:34 p.m.
President Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and others leave the inaugural stage.
Biden plans to sign 15 executive orders and two executive actions Wednesday afternoon when he arrives for his first day of work at the Oval Office.
Those orders are expected to reverse some of President Trump’s most controversial policies, including policies on immigration, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.
12:16 p.m.
Country star Garth Brooks performs “Amazing Grace,” followed by a speech from inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, who was the first national youth poet laureate in 2014.
11:53 a.m.
President Biden gives his first remarks after being sworn into office.
“This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day, a day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve,” he said.
“Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause — the cause of democracy, the people, the will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded,” he continued. “At this hour my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
Biden later reiterated his pledge to be a president for “all Americans,” including those who did not vote for him, and called for a moment of silence for those who died due to Covid-19.
11:50 a.m.
President Joe Biden is sworn into office.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol for Biden, who held his left hand on a worn Celtic Bible that has been in his family for over a century.
Meanwhile, Trump is in Florida, where he spent the final hour of his term.
11:45 a.m.
Jennifer Lopez performs a medley of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” “America the Beautiful” and a brief interlude into her own song, “Let’s Get Loud.”
11:43 a.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris is sworn into office.
She was escorted into the U.S. Capitol building by hero Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who steered an angry mob from the Senate floor during Jan. 6 insurrection.
11:37 a.m.
Lady Gaga performs the National Anthem, followed by City of South Fulton Fire Capt. Andrea Hall reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Backed by the United States Marine Band, Gaga gave a mostly solemn performance, a far cry from her traditional elaborate productions.
Hall is the first African American female firefighter to serve as captain in Fulton’s Fire Rescue Department in Georgia, 11alive reports.
11:22 a.m.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota., and Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri., are the first to give remarks.
Klobuchar said the “violent angry mob” that stormed the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 “awakened us to our responsibilities as Americans.”
“Americans gave their lives to preserve our republic in this place,” she added. “Now it falls on all of us — not just the two leaders we are inaugurating today — to take up the torch of our democracy, not as a weapon of political arson, but as an instrument for good.”
Blunt also addressed the Jan. 6 insurrection, calling it “an assault on our Capitol.”
“[It] reminds us that a government designed to balance and check itself is both fragile and resilient,” he said. “During the last year, the pandemic challenged our free and open society and call for extraordinary determination and sacrifice and still challenges us today.”
11:20 a.m.
President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden descend the U.S. Capitol steps and onto the inaugural stage.
Biden gave former President Obama a fist bump before taking his seat.
11:12 a.m.
Vice President elect-Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff take the inaugural stage.
Harris greeted the Obamas before embracing her stepchildren and hugging Emhoff.
11:10 a.m.
It’s less than an hour before Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Here’s a look at presidential inauguration ceremonies through the years.
11:04 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence join others on the Inaugural stage, nodding amid applause from crowd.
Pence did not attend President Trump’s sendoff earlier this morning at Joint Base Andrews.
10:51 a.m.
Three former presidents have stepped on the Inaugural stage.
Former President Bill Clinton former Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were introduced along with President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush and former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
They were followed by members of the Biden family.
10:35 a.m.
Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, Harris and Emhoff enter the U.S. Capitol about 90 minutes before Biden’s noon swearing-in ceremony.
Right now at the 46th St. subway station in NYC.
By @plannedalism pic.twitter.com/H5vvtF5RJl— Jerry Saltz (@jerrysaltz) January 20, 2021
10:14 a.m.
The 46th Street subway station sign in Queens has been altered to say “46th Joe” and “45th Out.”
Congratulations to my friend, President @JoeBiden! This is your time. pic.twitter.com/LXzxGnBAfz
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 20, 2021
10:08 a.m.
Former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama enter the U.S. Capitol ahead of Biden’s Inauguration.
“Congratulations to my friend, President @JoeBiden! This is your time,” Obama tweeted earlier this morning, along with a photo of him and Biden walking, each with one arm around the other.
9:30 a.m.
A sea of nearly 200,000 flags sweeps over the National Mall, where thousands of spectators would normally gather on Inauguration Day.
They represent those who cannot attend the ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The “Field of Flags” includes American flags as well as flags from all 50 states and the five U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as 56 pillars of light.
9:01 a.m.
Trump boards Air Force One with his family and is headed to Florida ahead of Biden’s inauguration.
“This has been an incredible four years,” he told a crowd at Joint Base Andrews, who chanted “We love you.”
“We’ve accomplished so much together...People have no idea how hard this family worked, and they worked for you. They could’ve had a much easier life but they did a fantastic job,” he said. “It’s been something very special, we’ve accomplished a lot our first lady has been a woman of great grace and beauty and dignity — and so popular with the people.”
Trump lauded his efforts to “rebuild the United States military” and the creation of Space Force, and how he treated veterans.
“I hope they don’t raise your taxes — but if they do, I told you so,” he added, with a warning that the economy won’t fair as well under Biden.
He also credited his administration for developing a coronavirus vaccine, calling it “a great achievement.”
“You can’t work harder [than we did],” he said. “We’ve done a lot, but there’s still things to do...It is my greatest honor and privilege to have been your president.”
“I wish the new administration great luck and great success,” he added. “They have the foundation to do something really spectacular.”
8:45 a.m.
Biden attends church at Washington’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle with Harris, Dr. Jill Biden and Emhoff.
They are joined by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky and U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
8:00 a.m.
President Trump leaves the White House on Marine One.
“It’s been a great honor, the honor of a lifetime. The greatest people in the world, the greatest home in the world,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn before boarding the chopper.
“We love the American people, and again, it has been something very special. And I just want to say goodbye but hopefully it’s not a long term goodbye. We’ll see each other again.”
Trump is headed to Joint Base Andrews, Md.
