WASHINGTON: The Latest on Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration (all times local):
12:50 p.m.
Calm prevailed outside heavily fortified state capitol buildings across the U.S. as Joe Biden was sworn in as president.
The FBI had warned of the possibility for armed demonstrations leading up to the inauguration after President Donald Trump repeatedly and falsely claimed the election was stolen from him.
Fewer than a half-dozen demonstrators showed up outside the capitols in Concord, New Hampshire, and Lansing, Michigan. A lone protester wearing a Make America Great Again hat stood outside a chain-link fence surrounding the California Capitol in Sacramento, as dozens of police officers and National Guard troops guarded every entrance.
Three protesters were outside the Nebraska Capitol in Lincoln, one waving a flag that read Biden is not the president.
Dump trucks, prison buses and other government vehicles were used to barricade streets around the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta, though no protesters were there.
Michigan lawmakers canceled a session scheduled for Wednesday out of caution. But in Wisconsin, legislators planned to move ahead with a committee hearing that was to be open to the public.
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HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JOE BIDENS INAUGURATION AS THE 46TH U.S. PRESIDENT:
Joe Biden took the oath of office at noon Wednesday to become the 46th president of the United States. He takes charge in a deeply divided nation, inheriting a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.
Read more:
On Day One, Biden to undo Trump policies on climate, virus
Bidens first act: Orders on pandemic, climate, immigration
Biden charts new US direction, promises many Trump reversals
DC on lockdown and on edge before Bidens inauguration
Vice President Harris: A new chapter opens in US politics
Analysis: For Biden, chance to turn crisis into opportunity
What to Watch: An inauguration unlike any other amid pandemic, unrest
Trump pardons ex-strategist Steve Bannon, dozens of others
Trump frees former aides from ethics pledge, lobbying ban
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON:
12:45 p.m.
The official swearing-in ceremony for President Joe Biden have concluded, but more events are planned throughout the day.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden departed the platform at the U.S. Capitol following a ceremony that included Biden taking the oath Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States. Vice President Kamala Harris also took her oath of office, becoming the nations first female vice president.
The day included musical performances from Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks. Celebrated poet Amanda Gorman read a piece noting that, while democracy can be permanently delayed, it can never be permanently denied.
Following his departure from the platform, Biden was expected to sign paperwork in the Presidents Room within the U.S. Capitol. Afterward, he reviews troops outside the Capitol before departing and traveling to Arlington National Cemetery for a ceremony with former presidents in attendance.
Later Wednesday, Biden is expected to make his first official arrival at the White House as president before a virtual inaugural parade.
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12:40 p.m.
Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman summoned images dire and triumphant as she called out to the world even as we grieved, we grew.
Gorman is 22, by far the youngest inaugural poet since Robert Frost read for John F. Kennedy in 1961. She quoted biblical scripture and echoed the oratory of Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. among others as she recited her poem at President Joe Bidens inauguration on Wednesday.
She referred to the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, an event that she said helped inspire her to finish her poem, The Hill We Climb.
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12:20 p.m.
More than a hundred people stood in the cold waiting to get through a security checkpoint to reach Pennsylvania Avenue, where they hoped to catch a glimpse of the presidential procession.
People watched the inauguration ceremony on their phones Wednesday, cheering as Vice President Kamala Harris, then President Joe Biden took the oath.
I feel so hopeful, so thankful, said Karen Jennings Crooms, a D.C. resident waiting in line with her husband. It makes us sad that this is where we are but hopeful that democracy will win out in the end. Thats what Im focusing on.
Her husband, Vernal Crooms, who attended Howard University at the same time as Harris but didnt know her, said he was happy to see the Donald Trump era end.
He said, Weve turned the page. Light prevailed and the lie didnt last.
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12:10 p.m.
President Joe Biden is calling on Americans to overcome their divisions, declaring in his first address in office that without unity, there is no peace.
Biden also pledged during his inaugural address Wednesday that he would be honest with the country as it continues to confront difficulties, saying that leaders have an obligation to defend the truth and defeat the lies.
He asked even those who did not vote for him to give him a chance. He said, Hear me out as we move forward.
As he did frequently during the campaign, Biden pledged that he will be a president for all Americans and will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.
He added, We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue.
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Noon
President Joe Biden says democracy has prevailed in a country reeling amid a pandemic and a violent melee two weeks ago at the U.S. Capitol.
In his first remarks as president, Biden said Wednesday that his swearing-in marks a day of history and hope.
Biden said in his inaugural address that the country has learned again that democracy is precious.
He added, The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.
Biden also thanked his predecessors from both parties for attending Wednesdays ceremonies. Former Vice President Mike Pence was also in attendance, while former President Donald Trump skipped the festivities and headed to Florida earlier in the day.
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11:50 a.m.
Joe Biden has officially become the 46th president of the United States.
Biden took the oath of office just before noon Wednesday during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The presidential oath was administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Biden was sworn in using a Bible that has been in his family since 1893 and was used during his swearing-in as vice president in 2009 and 2013. The 5-inch thick Bible, which could be seen on a table next to Bidens chair on the dais, has a Celtic cross on its cover and was also used each time he was sworn- n as a U.S. senator.
Bidens late son, Beau, also used the Bible for his own swearing-in ceremony as attorney general of Delaware and helped carry the Bible to his fathers 2013 ceremony.
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11:45 a.m.
Kamala Harris has been sworn in as the nations first female vice president.
The former U.S. senator from California is also the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency and becomes the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in government.
She was sworn in Wednesday by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court. Vice President Mike Pence, standing in for President Donald Trump, was sitting nearby as Lady Gaga sang the national anthem accompanied by the U.S. Marine Corps band.
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11:43 a.m.
Lady Gaga belted out the national anthem in a very Lady Gaga way full of fashion and passion.
The Grammy winner wore a large dove pin and a large red sculpted skirt as she sang into a gold microphone, delivering an emotional rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner.
As she left the podium, she spoke with President-elect Joe Biden and glanced at former President Barack Obama. On Twitter, she was given great marks, especially by many who joked that her skirt was automatically socially distancing.
Lady Gaga campaigned in November with Biden in Pennsylvania, and the two worked together the last time he was in the White House to combat sexual assault on college campuses.
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11:40 a.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump has pardoned Al Pirro, the ex-husband of Fox News Channel host and Trump ally Jeanine Pirro.
The pardon for Al Pirro is in addition to the 143 pardons and sentence commutations that Trump announced earlier Wednesday. Pirros pardon was announced just after Trump landed in Florida after leaving the White House and before Joe Biden was inaugurated as the nations 46th president.
Jeanine Pirro hosts Fox News Channels Justice with Judge Jeanine.
Al Pirro was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion charges and sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2000.
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11:35 a.m.
President Joe Biden has chosen career diplomat Daniel Smith to serve as acting secretary of state until his pick for top diplomat, Antony Blinken, is confirmed by the Senate.
Smith currently runs the Foreign Service Institute that trains U.S. diplomats and is a former ambassador to Greece.
Current and incoming U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday of his temporary appointment, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement. Biden is set to be sworn in at noon as the 46th president of the United States.
Blinken had a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, and his confirmation is not expected to face obstacles. He would succeed President Donald Trumps secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.
By AP writer Matthew Lee
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11:20 a.m.
Joe Bidens presidential inauguration ceremony has begun.
Biden swears the oath of office at noon Wednesday, becoming the 46th president of the United States. The Democrat is preparing to take the helm of a deeply divided nation and inherit crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.
History will be made at Bidens side, as Kamala Harris becomes the first woman to be vice president.
The ceremony in which presidential power is transferred is a hallowed American democratic tradition. And this time it serves as a jarring reminder of the challenges Biden faces: The inauguration unfolds at a U.S. Capitol battered by an insurrectionist siege just two weeks ago, encircled by security forces. Its devoid of crowds because of the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Flouting tradition, Donald Trump departed Washington on Wednesday morning ahead of the inauguration rather than accompany his successor to the Capitol.
Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are attending.
The other living former president, 96-year-old Jimmy Carter, previously announced he would not attend.
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11:10 a.m.
Three Supreme Court justices are absent from President-elect Joe Bidens inauguration, citing health risks from the coronavirus pandemic.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito did not join the others on the west front of the Capitol Wednesday. Breyer is 82, the oldest member of the court. Thomas is 72 and Alito is 70.
Supreme Court spokesperson Kathy Arberg says some members of the court elected not to attend the inauguration ceremony in light of the public health risks posed by the COVID pandemic.
The justices have begun receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, but it is not clear if they all have received both doses.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the other appointees of President Donald Trump, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were in attendance Wednesday, along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Roberts was to swear in Biden, while Sotomayor was giving the oath of office to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
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11:05 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence has arrived at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, were announced at inaugural festivities at the U.S. Capitol about one hour ahead of Bidens expected swearing-in ceremony.
Pence is representing the outgoing Trump administration at Bidens inaugural. President Donald Trump is skipping the festivities, departing Washington earlier in the day for the last time as sitting president.
Aboard Air Force One a final time, Trump landed in West Palm Beach, Florida, just before Pences arrival at the inaugural platform.
During remarks before his departure, Trump hinted at a comeback despite a legacy of chaos, tumult and bitter divisions in the country he led for four years, telling supporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland We will be back in some form.
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11:05 a.m.
A Capitol police officer hailed as a hero for his actions during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol is accompanying Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at the inauguration of Harris and President-elect Joe Biden.
Officer Eugene Goodman confronted the insurrectionists and led them away from Senate chambers moments after Vice President Mike Pence was escorted from the Senate chamber as the rioters stormed the Capitol.
Goodman is a Black man and was facing an overwhelmingly white mob. He is the only officer seen for a full minute on widely circulated footage captured by a news reporter. Goodman stands in front of the rioters and walks backward as the group follows him to a second-floor hallway, where other officers finally assist him.
A police spokeswoman says Goodmans plainclothes assignment to accompany Harris is a ceremonial role.
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11 a.m.
Former Republican leaders and lawmakers are among those gathering at the Capitol for President-elect Joe Bidens inauguration.
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was attending the Wednesday ceremony to honor the process after a year that he said tested the nations institutions. He said he was there out of respect for the peaceful transfer of power.
Former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona says its too bad that outgoing President Donald Trump did not attend for that handoff that the world can see.
Flake is a Trump critic. He says he hopes its a moment of renewal for the nation. He says he thinks Americans will sleep easier knowing that we have a more steady hand in the White House.
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10:50 a.m.
President Donald Trump has arrived in Florida after leaving the White House for the final time as president.
Trump said farewell to Washington early Wednesday, leaving before President-elect Joe Bidens inauguration.
Trumps plane flew low along the coast as Bidens inauguration played on TV on Fox News Channel.
Trumps family was on the plane with him. He spent some of the flight meeting with flight staff, who went up to say goodbye.
Trump has hinted about a comeback despite a legacy of chaos, tumult and bitter divisions in the country he led for four years.
Trump spoke to supporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where he walked across a red carpet and boarded Air Force One to head to Florida. He said: So just a goodbye. We love you. And the 45th president added, We will be back in some form.
Trump departs office as the only president ever impeached twice, and with millions more out of work than when he was sworn in and 400,000 dead from the coronavirus.
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10:35 a.m.
President-elect Joe Biden has arrived at the U.S. Capitol ahead of his inauguration as the United States 46th president.
Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived at the complex on Wednesday morning, about 90 minutes before his noon swearing-in ceremony. They were accompanied by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, and were greeted by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.
The president-elects motorcade wound its way through a mostly deserted Washington following a morning church service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Streets that would typically be lined with thousands of inaugural onlookers were ringed instead with a massive security presence to include military vehicles and armed troops.
About 25,000 National Guard members have been dispatched to Washington following the violent melee at the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago.
Biden paused to wave from the Capitol steps before entering the building.
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10:25 a.m.
All of the former U.S. presidents attending President-elect Joe Bidens inauguration have arrived at the U.S. Capitol.
George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, were first to arrive at the complex on Wednesday morning, several hours before Bidens swearing-in ceremony.
Barack and Michelle Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton followed shortly thereafter, with each couple arriving in separate motorcades.
The other living former president, 96-year-old Jimmy Carter, previously announced he would not attend Bidens inauguration. Carter and his wife, 93-year-old Rosalynn Carter, have largely spent the coronavirus pandemic at their home in Plains, Georgia.
Carter had been the first former president to confirm that he was attending Donald Trumps inaugural in 2017.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump departed Washington earlier Wednesday, skipping the Biden inaugural festivities and heading straight to their home in Florida. Trump is the first president since Andrew Johnson not to attend the inauguration of his successor.
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10:20 a.m.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are showcasing American designers at their inauguration.
The president-elect is wearing a navy suit and navy overcoat by Ralph Lauren. Jill Biden is wearing an ocean-blue wool tweed coat and dress by American designer Alexandra ONeill of the Markarian label.
Aides say Harris is wearing Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson. Both are Black designers, Rogers from Louisiana and Hudson from South Carolina.
Harris husband, Doug Emhoff, wore a Ralph Lauren suit on Wednesday.
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9:50 a.m.
Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will resign when President-elect Joe Biden takes the oath of office.
The Justice Department says Rosens resignation goes into effect at noon Wednesday.
Rosen has run the department since former Attorney General William Barr resigned on Dec. 23. He was previously the deputy attorney general and deputy transportation secretary.
Rosen has kept a low profile since he assumed the top job at the Justice Department. He has not held a press conference or addressed the press corps since he took the role, even after a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. He has only released pre-recorded videos discussing the matter and issued statements.
Longtime Justice Department official Monty Wilkinson is expected to assume the role of acting attorney general while Judge Merrick Garland awaits confirmation by the Senate.
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9:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump has followed at least one presidential tradition.
The White House says the Republican president left behind a note for his successor, Democrat Joe Biden.
Deputy press secretary Judd Deere declined to reveal what Trump wrote to Biden or to characterize the sentiment in the note, citing privacy for communication between presidents.
Trump has refused to publicly concede to Biden and did not mention the Democrat by name in a pair of farewell addresses.
Trump interrupted many traditions of the presidency, including by not attending Bidens inauguration on Wednesday. Trump also did not invite Biden to the White House for a meeting after Biden was declared the winner of Novembers presidential election
Trump left the White House for the final time as president on Wednesday morning, saying, Its been a great honor, the honor of a lifetime.
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9:05 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he thinks the new administration will have great success and claims to have laid the foundation for it.
Trump says the new administration has the foundation to do something really spectacular. He made brief farewell remarks at Marylands Joint Base Andrews before he boarded Air Force One for a flight to his Florida home.
Trump did not mention President-elect Joe Biden by name during his Wednesday remarks.
Trump told cheering, chanting supporters hell be watching and listening from a distance. He promised he will be back in some form and wished the crowd a good life before he and his wife boarded the plane.
Trump wanted to be in Florida before Biden becomes president at noon.
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8:35 a.m.
President-elect Joe Biden is attending church ahead of his inauguration, a traditional step taken ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.
Biden and incoming first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday are attending a service at Washingtons Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. With them are incoming Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff.
At Bidens invitation, the first couple is joined by a bipartisan group of members of Congress, including all four top-ranking members of congressional leadership.
That includes both Senate leaders, Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrat Chuck Schumer, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Many presidents have chosen St. Johns Episcopal Church, sometimes called Church of the Presidents, for the inaugural day service. Biden is the second Catholic U.S. president, and St. Matthews is the seat of the Catholic archbishop of Washington.
Biden spent Tuesday night at Blair House, a traditional move ahead of a presidents inauguration.
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8:15 a.m.
Donald Trump has left the White House for the final time as president.
Trump emerged from the building Wednesday morning and strode across the South Lawn to board Marine One. He said, Its been a great honor, the honor of a lifetime.
Trump now heads to Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland, where hell have a military sendoff. A red carpet has been placed on the tarmac for Trump to walk as he boards the plane. Four U.S. Army cannons are set up for a 21-gun salute. Trump then flies to Florida, where hell stay at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump is leaving Washington just hours before Joe Biden takes the oath of office as the 46th president. Its the first time in more than a century that a sitting president has rejected the tradition of attending his successors inauguration.
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7:45 a.m.
Two of the Biden administrations top communications officials are describing the incoming presidents inaugural address as a forward-looking speech that will make little to no mention of his predecessor.
Communications director Kate Bedingfield told ABCs Good Morning America on Wednesday that President-elect Joe Bidens address would speak to the moment that we are in, but it will also lay out a vision for the future.
Biden press secretary Jen Psaki tells CNN that Bidens inaugural address is definitely not a speech about Donald Trump and she wouldnt expect to hear about him in it.
Bedingfield says Biden had not had any contact with the outgoing president.
Asked why Biden had invited political opponents including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy to join him at a Mass on Wednesday morning, Psaki said it felt important to him personally to have members of both parties … and use that as an example to the American public.
Bedingfield says Biden will sign 15 executive orders in some of his first moves as president.
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7:35 a.m.
As the sun rose over Washingtons Freedom Plaza between the U.S. Capitol and the White House ahead of Joe Bidens presidential inauguration, clusters of soldiers in full battle fatigues clustered inside metal barriers erected to restrict access to the procession route.
Some yellow placards on the barriers read Biden-Harris 2021, while others carried the seal of the presidency or inaugural insignias. American and District of Columbia flags flapped in high winds.
Traffic has been blocked off nearby in all directions. Revelers have been told to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Most offices in the surrounding buildings are closed, many boarded up with plywood to prevent damage in case violence breaks out Wednesday.
But one tall office building in view of the procession route has been fitted with towering signs reading Welcome, Mr. President and Welcome Madam Vice President, for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
After being sworn in, Biden is set to inspect the readiness of military troops in a traditional pass in review.
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