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Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term as US president on Monday in Washington, DC.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump said after being sworn in as the 47th president during a ceremony inside the Capitol Rotunda. JD Vance was also sworn in as vice president.
In his inaugural speech, Trump decried the “American decline” wrought by his predecessor’s adminsitration, and reiterated his plans to overhaul the US’ trade relationships, lower energy prices, ramp up fossil fuel production, and declare a national emergency on the southern border.
Trump also said he will sign policies to end government diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” he said.
The president said he would take steps towards Mar’s exploration, a longtime ambition of his close ally Elon Musk. “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”
Trump is also preparing to unleash a torrent of executive orders later in the day on issues ranging from immigration to trade to federal government management. The announcements are part of efforts to undo the legacy of outgoing President Joe Biden and show immediate progress on policy areas that were key to Trump returning to the White House.
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Trump is expected to ultimately sign more than 200 executive actions in his early days in office, with a handful getting early priority. Among those are the formation of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), an end to government diversity initiatives, and an official recognition of two genders that’s designed to end government activity on behalf of transgender people.
Trump’s team separately rolled out 10 immigration orders he’s preparing to sign Monday, including the declaration of a national emergency at the border, a designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, strict limits to asylum claims and a suspension of refugee resettlement for at least four months.
He is also expected to pardon many of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump contested the previous year’s election results.
In a rally held on Sunday Trump promised to end what he called “four long years of American decline” and “begin a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride.”
Elana Schor, Shelby Talcott, and David Weigel contributed to this report.