Good Monday afternoon. Donald Trump is now officially the 47th president of the United States, Joe Biden issued a number of last-minute pardons including to members of his own family, and we're tracking a rare winter storm in the South as brutal cold grips most of the nation. Here is what's in our Nightly Rundown. |
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Donald Trump inaugurated as 47th president of the United States | Donald Trump was sworn in today as the 47th president of the United States, overcoming two impeachments, four criminal indictments and two assassination attempts to cap off a historic political comeback. "The golden age of America begins right now," Trump said, at the start of his inauguration speech. "During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first." In his address, Trump vowed to swiftly pursue his agenda and outlined a series of executive orders that he said will "begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense." The ceremony was moved indoors to the Capitol rotunda for the first time since Ronald Reagan's second inauguration 40 years ago due to the bitterly cold weather, Trump announced last week. For the latest on all the Inauguration Day events, visit our NBC News live blog. |
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Trump to sign executive orders on immigration, gender, climate change |
Within the first few hours of his new administration, President Donald Trump is expected to sign more than 50 executive orders — and possibly more than 100 — according to a person in his transition operation. Immigration: In his inauguration speech, Trump said he will declare a national emergency at the southern border, reinstate his "remain in Mexico" policy for migrants awaiting asylum hearings — though Mexico's president has not agreed to that — and designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump will also sign an order seeking to end birthright citizenship, transition officials told reporters in a call ahead of the actions, setting up a potential 14th Amendment battle. Gender: Trump plans to sign executive orders proclaiming that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs inside federal agencies, according to senior White House officials. Climate change: Trump said he would declare a "national energy emergency" and increase oil drilling, as well as end the EPA rules requiring most new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be all-electric or hybrids by 2032. |
Trump administration prepares list of pardons for January 6th defendants |
President Donald Trump and his new administration have prepared a list of pardons for individuals convicted for rioting at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, per a source familiar with the list. Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon Capitol riot defendants, but the reach of those pardons has remained uncertain. More than 1,500 defendants were charged and over 1,200 convicted in the Capitol breach investigation, with more than 600 being sentenced to prison, according to the Justice Department. In a December interview with NBC News, Trump told "Meet the Press" that on his first day in office he would pardon January 6th defendants, adding that the rioters were prosecuted in a "very nasty system." |
Biden pardons family members, Fauci, Milley, and January 6th committee members |
In his final moments in office, former President Joe Biden signed several pre-emptive pardons to people President Trump and his allies have threatened. Just before Trump was sworn in, Biden issued pardons for three of his siblings and two of their spouses, citing concerns they'll be targeted by "baseless and politically motivated investigations." Earlier in the day, Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, the members and staff of the January 6th committee including former Rep. Liz Cheney, as well as police officers who testified before that committee. Biden said in a statement, "The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense." Trump reacted in a text message to NBC News. "It is disgraceful," he wrote, claiming without evidence, "Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES!" |
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Rare winter storm takes aim at South as dangerous cold grips nation |
Cold weather alerts are in effect for 179 million people as dangerously frigid temperatures grip most of the nation today. As the Arctic air spreads across the South, a rare winter storm will deliver snow and ice from Texas to the Carolinas beginning today. An icy mix is expected to begin blanketing Houston this evening with 2-4 inches of snow. Tomorrow the snow will fall along the I-10 corridor from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. On the West Coast, another Particularly Dangerous Situation red flag warning is in effect from now until Tuesday 10 a.m. PT, for a large portion of Ventura and Los Angeles counties on the heels of that deadly, wind-fueled wildfire disaster. |
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What else we're watching: |
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The U.N. agency responsible for administering aid to Gaza said the first full day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was running smoothy, after Hamas released three hostages and Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners, as part of the first phase. |
TikTok has restored service in the U.S. after President Trump said he would issue an executive order to keep a nationwide ban from taking hold, despite the Supreme Court upholding a bipartisan law requiring the platform's Chinese owner to divest over national security concerns. |
Cecile Richards, the women's rights activist and former president of Planned Parenthood, has died at 67 after a battle with cancer, her family said. |
Today marks just the second time that Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day have coincided since 1997. Bernice King, the late civil rights icon's daughter, said it's "wonderful" the two events are occurring on the same day because it's a reminder that "when we move forward, we've got to do it in the spirit of King." |
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Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app. |
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