The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Biden signs executive orders as Democrats take control of Senate

At an inauguration like no other, amid a raging pandemic, in a city that had become a fortress of fences, concrete barriers and security checkpoints, President Biden pleaded for unity in his inaugural address to a divided nation, promising to “be a president for all Americans.”

Shortly after moving into the White House, Biden signed several executive orders, including one to rejoin the Paris climate accord and another ordering a mask mandate on federal property.

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Biden took the oath early — at 11:48 a.m. — but still became the 46th president at noon, constitutional experts say.
He did not mention his predecessor by name during his speech on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, but declared that “democracy has prevailed.”
In one of her first official acts, Vice President Harris swore in her successor, Alex Padilla, along with Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, the Democrats who won the Georgia runoffs to give their party control of the Senate.
Harris’s historic swearing-in shattered gender and racial barriers. Eugene Goodman, the police officer who faced down a pro-Trump mob two weeks earlier at the Capitol, escorted her at the inauguration.
The Senate confirmed Avril Haines as the next director of national intelligence, making her the first member of Biden’s Cabinet to be installed by the chamber.
President Trump left the White House for the final time Wednesday morning and flew to Florida — making him the first president to skip his successor‘s swearing-in since 1869. “We will be back in some form,” Trump told a modest crowd that showed up at Joint Base Andrews for his departure.
On his final full day in office, Trump granted clemency to 143 people, including former adviser Stephen K. Bannon, GOP megadonor Elliott Broidy and former Republican members of Congress; but he did not preemptively pardon himself or his family.
Trump also undid one of the only measures he had taken to “drain the swamp,” rescinding an executive order that limited former administration officials from lobbying the government or working for foreign countries.
End of carousel
Skip to end of carousel
Biden took the oath early — at 11:48 a.m. — but still became the 46th president at noon, constitutional experts say.
He did not mention his predecessor by name during his speech on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, but declared that “democracy has prevailed.”
In one of her first official acts, Vice President Harris swore in her successor, Alex Padilla, along with Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, the Democrats who won the Georgia runoffs to give their party control of the Senate.
Harris’s historic swearing-in shattered gender and racial barriers. Eugene Goodman, the police officer who faced down a pro-Trump mob two weeks earlier at the Capitol, escorted her at the inauguration.
The Senate confirmed Avril Haines as the next director of national intelligence, making her the first member of Biden’s Cabinet to be installed by the chamber.
President Trump left the White House for the final time Wednesday morning and flew to Florida — making him the first president to skip his successor‘s swearing-in since 1869. “We will be back in some form,” Trump told a modest crowd that showed up at Joint Base Andrews for his departure.
On his final full day in office, Trump granted clemency to 143 people, including former adviser Stephen K. Bannon, GOP megadonor Elliott Broidy and former Republican members of Congress; but he did not preemptively pardon himself or his family.
Trump also undid one of the only measures he had taken to “drain the swamp,” rescinding an executive order that limited former administration officials from lobbying the government or working for foreign countries.
End of carousel

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