Joe Biden inauguration LIVE: Biden signs 17 orders to undo Trump's legacy
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take oath: Trump departs White House, leaves a letter for Joe Biden. Stay tuned for US President inauguration live updates
 "Joe Biden")
US President Joe Biden signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, after his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States. Photo: Reuters
5:58 PM
Hollywood royalty in full force at Biden inauguration
Hollywood A-listers missing from Donald Trump's entry to the White House four years ago are all in for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The who's who of live entertainment has descended on Fortress Washington, taking forward a tradition that began in the 1940s and repurposing it for global audiences online in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic's winter surge in the US.
Lady Gaga will be singing the national anthem on Wednesday on the West Front of the Capitol, where exactly a fortnight ago a violent pro-Trump mob stormed the building in a stunning bid overturn the election results. Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks will also headline the musical elements of a historic afternoon.
The evening features Tom Hanks hosting a special 90 minute prime time programme "Celebrating America," which takes the place of the official inaugural balls and mixes in stories of ordinary Americans going about their lives during a pandemic. After opening remarks from Biden and Harris, the spotlight shifts to Ant Clemons, Jon Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, John Legend, Eva Longoria, Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, and Kerry Washington.
The evening features Tom Hanks hosting a special 90 minute prime time programme "Celebrating America," which takes the place of the official inaugural balls and mixes in stories of ordinary Americans going about their lives during a pandemic. After opening remarks from Biden and Harris, the spotlight shifts to Ant Clemons, Jon Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, John Legend, Eva Longoria, Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, and Kerry Washington.
Lady Gaga
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. File Photo: Reuters
Kerry Washington | Image: Wikimedia Commons
5:43 PM
Trump's parting gifts to Biden
When he assumes office on Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden will inherit a stock market near all-time highs, along with a gaping budget deficit, a weakening dollar, elevated economic uncertainty and a Federal Reserve that may have less ammunition to fight the next crisis.
Biden is also inheriting a dollar that's fallen 12 per cent from last year's highs. A weaker dollar aids exporters by boosting the competitiveness of US products abroad and increases the appeal of US stocks by making them more affordable to foreign buyers.
The national debt ballooned by almost 40 per cent under Trump to nearly $28 trillion, fueled by the passage of tax cuts in 2017 and a flood of spending to counter the economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic last year.
Biden will inherit a Federal Reserve balance sheet that is bigger than ever, thanks to ramped-up spending in the wake of the pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic ratcheted up economic concerns during the last year of Trump's term. Earlier years of his presidency were marked by flaring trade frictions between the United States and China that rocked asset prices.
Biden is also inheriting a dollar that's fallen 12 per cent from last year's highs. A weaker dollar aids exporters by boosting the competitiveness of US products abroad and increases the appeal of US stocks by making them more affordable to foreign buyers.
The national debt ballooned by almost 40 per cent under Trump to nearly $28 trillion, fueled by the passage of tax cuts in 2017 and a flood of spending to counter the economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic last year.
Biden will inherit a Federal Reserve balance sheet that is bigger than ever, thanks to ramped-up spending in the wake of the pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic ratcheted up economic concerns during the last year of Trump's term. Earlier years of his presidency were marked by flaring trade frictions between the United States and China that rocked asset prices.
Photo: Shutterstock
5:31 PM
Analysis: Biden's first year could see record employment growth
Joe Biden’s first year in office could go down in history as a record-breaker on the job-creation front, with an explosion in hiring expected as the coronavirus vaccine rollout allows Americans to emerge from a year in hiding.
It may not be enough.
Only slightly more than half of the 22 million jobs lost in the pandemic were regained by the end of last year. Even if 2021 hiring shatters the post-World War Two record of 4.27 million jobs created in 1984, roughly a quarter of those who lost work could still be on the sidelines, with bleak prospects for regaining their vocations in an economy reshaped by the pandemic.
As Biden takes the oath of office on Wednesday, the job market awaiting him presents a monumental challenge.
Just a year ago, a record-long expansion was creating more opportunities and higher pay for women, minorities and other workers on the margins. These same groups - key to his election victory - were disproportionately harmed by pandemic job losses in service-sector jobs that face the longest road to recovery.
5:26 PM
Champagne on Inauguration Day? Try antacid, Democrats say
Marge Hobley has waited four years for the day she could finally celebrate the end of Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency.
But after the events of recent months – the coronavirus pandemic, Trump’s false attacks on the election results, and the shocking assault on the U.S. Capitol – the 77-year-old Indianapolis Democrat said any jubilation has yielded to a more muted mix of relief, sadness and cautious optimism.
“The idea of, let’s have a champagne toast – we’ll have a Maalox or Pepto Bismol toast, maybe,” she said when asked how she would mark Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
“I think it’ll be tempered by reflection and, if I may, prayer for Biden.”
In interviews, Biden supporters around the country said the dizzying events of the last few weeks, a fitting capstone to a tumultuous Trump presidency, have cast a somber air over the proceedings – heightened by the deaths of 400,000 Americans in the Covid-19 pandemic.
5:22 PM
In first hours as President, Biden to strike at the heart of Trump's legacy
In his first hours as president, Joe Biden will aim to strike at the heart of President Donald Trump’s policy legacy, signing a series of executive actions that reverse his predecessor’s orders on immigration, climate change and handling of the pandemic.
Biden on Wednesday will end construction on Trump’s border wall, end the ban on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization, and revoke the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, aides said Tuesday. The new president will sign the orders almost immediately after taking the oath of office at the Capitol, pivoting quickly from his pared-down inauguration ceremony to enacting his agenda. Read here
Biden on Wednesday will end construction on Trump’s border wall, end the ban on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization, and revoke the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, aides said Tuesday. The new president will sign the orders almost immediately after taking the oath of office at the Capitol, pivoting quickly from his pared-down inauguration ceremony to enacting his agenda. Read here
5:14 PM
Inheriting a confluence of crises, Biden will take helm as president
Joe Biden swears the oath of office at noon Wednesday to become the 46th president of the United States, taking the helm of a deeply divided nation and inheriting a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.
The very ceremony in which presidential power is transferred, a hallowed American democratic tradition, will serve as a jarring reminder of the challenges Biden faces: The inauguration unfolds at a US Capitol battered by an insurrectionist siege just two weeks ago, encircled by security forces evocative of those in a war zone, and devoid of crowds because of the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. Read here
4:57 PM
Six hours and a few minutes left for Biden inauguration
Joe Biden speaks at the Major Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III National Guard/Reserve Center | Photo: AP
Joe Biden stands with his wife Jill Biden after speaking at the Major Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III National Guard/Reserve Center. Photo: AP
4:50 PM
Biden administration considers creating White House antitrust czar
The incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden is considering creating a White House position focused on competition policy and issues relating to antitrust, two sources familiar with internal deliberations said.
The idea remains under consideration and the Biden White House may not ultimately make the move, one of the sources said.
The idea remains under consideration and the Biden White House may not ultimately make the move, one of the sources said.
“It is yet to be determined if this will be more of a coordinator kind of a role or if this person will really sit at the White House,” said another source. The role could focus on moving information back and forth between agencies and coordinating, the source added.
Antitrust enforcement has emerged as an issue the Biden transition team has been watching closely, especially with the rise of Big Tech platforms, which provide free or inexpensive services to consumers while suspected of breaking the law to crush smaller rivals. (Reuters)
4:43 PM
Trump commutes sentence of ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has served about seven years of a 28-year sentence for corruption.
The announcement Wednesday morning was part of a flurry of clemency action in the final hours of Trump's White House term that benefited more than 140 people, including rap performers, ex-members of Congress and other allies of Trump and his family.
4:26 PM
Biden set to rejoin Paris climate accord, impose curbs on US oil industry
Incoming US president Joe Biden will announce America’s return to the international Paris Agreement to fight climate change on Wednesday, the centerpiece of a raft of day-one executive orders aimed at restoring US leadership in combating global warming.
The announcements will also include a sweeping order to review all of ex-President Donald Trump’s actions weakening climate change protections, the revocation of a vital permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project from Canada, and a moratorium on oil and gas leasing activities in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge that Trump’s administration had recently opened to development, Biden aides said
The announcements will also include a sweeping order to review all of ex-President Donald Trump’s actions weakening climate change protections, the revocation of a vital permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project from Canada, and a moratorium on oil and gas leasing activities in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge that Trump’s administration had recently opened to development, Biden aides said
4:24 PM
German president 'greatly relieved' at change of power in US
4:23 PM
Biden's immigration bill may help IT in India
Joe Biden, hours after being sworn in as the 46th President, will send a comprehensive immigration bill to Congress which among other things proposes to eliminate the per country cap for employment-based green cards, a move that would benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian IT professionals in the US, whose current wait period for legal permanent residency runs into several decades.
Called the US Citizenship Act of 2021, the legislation modernises the immigration system, according to an incoming White House official. Read here
4:18 PM
An Indian artist does his bit ahead of Biden inauguration
An Indian artist Aejaz Saiyed gives finishing touch to an art work featuring US President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi, ahead of Biden's inauguration ceremony. The inauguration of Biden and Harris is scheduled be held Wednesday. Photo: AP
4:13 PM
A list of prominent members pardoned by Trump
Outgoing President Donald Trump has pardoned as many as 143 people during his time in the office, according to the AFP.
Some of the prominent members include:
1) Steve Bannon - Former Trump aide, charged with fraud over funds raised to build Mexico wall
2) Charles Kushner - Father of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering.
Some Others:
3) Michael Flynn
4) Paul Manafort
5) Roger Stone
6) Alex Van Der Zwaan
7) George Papadopoulos
4:02 PM
US may return to WHO under Biden. He further plans immediate orders on immigration and Covid
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First Published: Jan 20 2021 | 1:50 PM IST
