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COVID-19 is focus on Biden’s first full day

Joe Biden speaks during an event on his administration's Covid-19 response in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21.Al Drago/Bloomberg

President Biden and Vice President Harris were sworn into office Wednesday. Shortly after he was inaugurated, Biden took executive action to reverse or target a number of Trump-era policies on immigration, climate change, and the nation’s COVID-19 response. He is expected to announce a number of additional measures to address the pandemic and economic crisis, as the Senate weighs confirmation of Cabinet and high-level nominees.

Senate Democrats call for ethics investigation into Cruz, Hawley — 6:33 p.m.

By Bloomberg

A group of Senate Democrats filed a complaint to the Senate Ethics Committee seeking an investigation of GOP Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, saying they helped spread baseless claims of election fraud that contributed to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by an angry mob.

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Cruz and Hawley were among the leaders of 147 Republicans in the House and Senate who objected on the day of the riot to at least one state’s certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win in support of former President Donald Trump’s claims that he was cheated.

By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

President Biden was sworn into office Wednesday, and it’s already clear his administration represents a major departure from Donald Trump’s when it comes to policy and procedure.

But there are also a number of little-noticed changes that are taking place under Biden, from his Oval Office décor to dogs once again roaming the halls.

Here are a few noteworthy under-the-radar changes taking place.

By The Associated Press

The Democratic-controlled Congress easily passed legislation Thursday required to confirm retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as President Joe Biden’s secretary of defense, brushing aside concerns that his retirement occurred inside the seven-year window that safeguards civilian leadership of the military.

It would be the first measure to be signed into law by brand-new President Joe Biden.

The Senate sent the measure exempting Austin from the seven-year rule to Biden after a 69-27 Senate tally that came moments after a comparably lopsided 326-78 House vote. The back-to-back votes put Austin in position to be confirmed as secretary by Friday.

By The Associated Press

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is proposing to push back the start of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial by a week or more to give the former president time to review the case.

House Democrats who voted to impeach Trump last week for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riots have signaled they want a quick trial as President Joe Biden begins his term, saying a full reckoning is necessary before the country — and the Congress — can move on.

But McConnell told his fellow GOP senators on a call Thursday that a short delay would give Trump time to prepare and stand up his legal team, ensuring due process.

By The Washington Post

The Army falsely denied for days that Lieutenant General Charles Flynn, the brother of disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn, was involved in a key meeting during its heavily scrutinized response to the deadly assault on the US Capitol.

Charles Flynn confirmed in a statement issued to The Washington Post on Wednesday that he was in the room for a tense Jan. 6 phone call during which the Capitol Police and District of Columbia officials pleaded with the Pentagon to dispatch the National Guard urgently, but top Army officials expressed concern about having the Guard at the Capitol.

By Bloomberg

The House voted 326-78 Thursday to grant the waiver needed for Lloyd Austin to serve as President Joe Biden’s defense secretary, and the Senate was poised to follow suit.

Austin, who retired as an Army general in 2016, would be the first Black leader of the Defense Department. But he can’t get the job unless Congress exempts him from a law barring military officers from the Pentagon’s top civilian post within seven years of retirement.

The Senate has yet to act on the waiver or on the separate confirmation vote required in that chamber for all cabinet nominees. It was preparing to vote on the waiver promptly Thursday after the Senate Armed Services Committee approved both the waiver and the nomination earlier in the day.

By The Washington Post

President Joe Biden on Thursday appointed Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as the acting chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, a move that positions the Washington watchdog agency to take on a more aggressive role in policing Facebook, Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley.

Slaughter takes the reins at the FTC after serving as a Democratic commissioner since 2018. She stands to inherit an agency that in recent years has issued record-breaking penalties against tech companies for jeopardizing their users’ privacy - and only last month sued Facebook for violating federal antitrust laws.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Taking office as the coronavirus pandemic death toll in the United States has surged past 400,000, President Joe Biden faces a herculean task. But he has a plan to bring the virus under control.

Biden on Thursday unveiled his administration’s “National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness” at a White House ceremony, where he signed a number of executive orders setting it into motion.

Compiled from Globe wire service and major media reports, are some key takeaways from the plan, which lists seven major goals.

By The Associated Press

With a burst of executive orders, President Joe Biden served notice Thursday that the nation’s COVID-19 response is under new management and he’s demanding progress to reduce infections and lift the siege Americans have endured for nearly a year.

The 10 orders signed by Biden are aimed at jump starting his national COVID-19 strategy to increase vaccinations and testing, lay the groundwork for reopening schools and businesses, and immediately increase the use of masks — including a requirement that Americans mask up for travel. One directive calls for a addressing health care inequities in minority communities hard hit by the virus.

By The Associated Press

The Democratic-controlled Congress is moving quickly to install retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as President Joe Biden’s secretary of defense, brushing aside concerns about his retirement inside the seven-year window that safeguards civilian leadership of the military.

The House is voting Thursday on a waiver that would exempt Austin from the seven-year rule. All signs point to quick action in the Senate after that, putting Austin on track to be confirmed as secretary by week’s end.

Austin, a 41-year veteran of the Army, has promised to surround himself with qualified civilians and include them in policy decisions. He said he has spent nearly his entire life committed to the principle of civilian control over the military.

While the waiver is expected to be approved, the vote puts Democrats in an awkward position. Many of them opposed a similar waiver in 2017 for Jim Mattis, former President Donald Trump’s first secretary of defense.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden has confidence in FBI Director Chris Wray and plans to keep him in the job, the White House press secretary said Thursday.

FBI directors are given 10-year terms, meaning leadership of the bureau is generally unaffected by changes in presidential administrations. But Biden’s spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, was notably noncommittal when asked at her first briefing Wednesday whether Biden had confidence in Wray. “I have not spoken with him about specifically FBI Director Wray in recent days,” Psaki said.

On Thursday, she cleared up any confusion, tweeting: “I caused an unintentional ripple yesterday so wanted to state very clearly President Biden intends to keep FBI Director Wray on in his role and he has confidence in the job he is doing.”

Wray is keeping his position even as the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are under scrutiny for their preparations before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The Justice Department inspector general and other watchdog offices are now investigating.

Wray was appointed in 2017 by President Donald Trump following Trump’s firing of James Comey. Wray later became a frequent target of Trump’s attacks, including by publicly breaking with the president on issues such as antifa, voter fraud and Russian election interference. The criticism led to speculation that Trump might fire Wray after the election.

By The Associated Press

The Biden administration is proposing to Russia a five-year extension of the New START treaty limiting the number of US and Russian strategic nuclear weapons, a US official said Thursday.

The proposal was being communicated to Russian officials, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter not yet publicly announced by the administration.

By Bloomberg News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the article of impeachment against Donald Trump will be sent to the Senate soon, triggering the start of his trial, but she refused to specify when.

The House impeachment managers -- the prosecutors who will present the case against Trump -- are in contact with the Senate about the timing, Pelosi said at a news conference Thursday.

“I don’t think it will be long,” she said.

By The Associated Press

As the coronavirus swept across the globe last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sank into the shadows, undermined by some of its own mistakes and stifled by an administration bent on downplaying the nation’s suffering.

Now a new CDC director is arriving to a mammoth task: reasserting the agency while the pandemic is in its deadliest phase yet and the nation’s largest-ever vaccination campaign is wracked by confusion and delays.

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

Authorities have hiked the reward to up to $75,000 for information on whoever left suspected pipe bombs at the Republican and Democratic national committee buildings in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, the same day that a violent mobbed stormed the US Capitol in a riot that left at least five people dead including a police officer.

Via Twitter Thursday, the FBI Washington D.C. field office confirmed the $75,000 offer, up from an initial reward of $50,000.

By The Associated Press

Vermont Democratic US Senator Patrick Leahy is now third in line for the presidency.

Leahy was sworn in Wednesday as the president pro tem of the Senate.

The post goes to the senator with the most seniority in the majority party. Leahy, who took office in 1975, is now the senator with the most seniority of either party.

As the pro tem, Leahy and US Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, have to sign all legislation passed by the Congress before any bill can be sent to the president’s desk for signing.

Leahy also served as Senate president pro tem from December 2012 to January 2015, his office said.

By Bloomberg News

President Joe Biden’s pick to run the US Transportation Department says he will focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19 on the nation’s transportation systems if he is confirmed by the US Senate.

“Safety is the foundation of the department’s mission, and that takes on new meaning amid this pandemic,” Pete Buttigieg said Thursday at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “We have to ensure all of our transportation systems – our aviation and public transits, our railways, our railways, roads, ports, our waterways, and pipelines - all of it is managed safely during this critical period, as we work to defeat the virus for good.”

The Transportation Secretary-designate, Buttigieg, 38, a military veteran and Harvard University graduate, was mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for two terms, leaving office last January. A former candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Buttigieg narrowly won the Iowa caucuses but endorsed Biden after dropping out of the race.

The position could be pivotal in any attempts by Biden to expand infrastructure spending, as some Democrats are seeking.

“We also have a lot of work to do to improve the infrastructure in this country, a mission that will not only keep more people safe, but also grow our economy as we look to the future,” Buttigieg said in his prepared remarks. “Now is the time, and we have a real chance to deliver for the American people.”

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden is putting forth a national COVID-19 strategy to ramp up vaccinations and testing, reopen schools and businesses and increase the use of masks for travel.

Biden will address inequities in hard-hit minority communities as he signs 10 pandemic-related executive orders on Thursday, his second day in office.

Biden administration officials say a coordinated nationwide effort is needed to defeat the virus. They’re also depending on Congress to provide $1.9 trillion for economic relief and COVID-19 response.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will set up vaccination centers, aiming to have 100 up and running in a month. Biden ordered the CDC to make vaccines available through local pharmacies starting next month.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s top medical adviser on the coronavirus, also announced renewed U.S. support for the World Health Organization.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden has given the Oval Office a slight makeover.

Biden revealed the new décor Wednesday as he invited reporters into his new office to watch him sign a series of executive orders hours after he took office.

A bust of Cesar Chavez, the labor leader and civil rights activist, is nestled among an array of framed family photos displayed on a desk behind the new president. Also represented in sculptures are civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden revoked a recent Trump administration report that aimed to promote “patriotic education” in schools but that historians mocked and rejected as political propaganda.

In an executive order signed on Wednesday in his first day in office, Biden disbanded Donald Trump’s presidential 1776 Commission and withdrew a report it released Monday. Trump established the group in September to rally support from white voters and as a response to The New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which highlights the lasting consequences of slavery in America.

By Bloomberg News

U.S. infectious-disease chief Anthony Fauci pledged his country’s commitment to the World Health Organization, including membership in a global effort to deploy Covid-19 vaccines.

Fauci addressed the Geneva-based group a day after Joe Biden’s inauguration, underlining the new U.S. president’s effort to mend ties with an agency crucial to fighting the pandemic. He confirmed that the U.S. will join Covax, a 92-nation vaccine collaboration that the Trump administration declined to participate in.

“The U.S. also intends to fulfill its financial obligations” to the WHO, Fauci said in a speech via a video link. “The U.S. sees technical collaboration on all levels as a fundamental part of our relationship with the WHO, one we value deeply and look to strengthen going forward.”

By Maria Sacchetti, The Washington Post

The Biden administration has ordered US immigration agencies to focus their energies on threats to national security, public safety and recent border crossers, ending a four-year stretch during the Trump administration that exposed anyone in the United States illegally to deportation.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske issued a memo hours after President Joe Biden’s inaugural Wednesday setting strict limits for arresting and deporting immigrants while the department reviews its policies and practices. He also imposed an “immediate” 100-day pause on the deportations of certain noncitizens, to take effect no later than Friday. Pekoske is in charge as the Senate considers the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas, the former deputy DHS secretary during the Obama administration.

By Tim Elfrink, The Washington Post

Standing in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery alongside his two predecessors in the White House, former president Barack Obama noted that inaugurations are central to American democracy.

“Inaugurations signal a tradition of a peaceful transfer of power that is over two centuries old,” Obama said in a joint video released late Wednesday with former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Although former president Donald Trump’s name was never uttered in the nearly three-minute clip, it served as an unsubtle rebuke to the latest member of the ex-presidents club, who has spent months torpedoing the norms surrounding the peaceful transfer of power.

By The Associated Press

As the US enters “what may well be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus,” President Joe Biden is putting forth a national COVID-19 strategy to ramp up vaccinations and testing, reopen schools and businesses and increase the use of masks — including a requirement that they be worn for travel.

Biden also will address inequities in hard-hit minority communities as he signs 10 pandemic-related executive orders on Thursday, his second day in office.

“We need to ask average Americans to do their part,” said Jeff Zients, the White House official directing the national response. “Defeating the virus requires a coordinated nationwide effort.”

By The Associated Press

Dr. Anthony Fauci says US President Joe Biden on Thursday will order the United States to support projects to deploy COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics to people in need around the world.

Fauci also says the United States will cease reducing US staff counts at the World Health Organization and will pay its financial obligations to it.

Fauci, Biden’s top medical adviser on the pandemic, told the WHO’s executive board that the president will issue a directive Thursday that shows the United States’ intent to join the COVAX Facility, a project to deploy COVID-19 vaccines to people in need around the world — whether in rich or poor countries.

By Julian E. Barnes, New York Times

The Biden administration Wednesday put Michael Ellis, a Trump loyalist who was sworn in Tuesday as the top lawyer for the National Security Agency, on administrative leave, a US official said Wednesday.

Ellis’ last-minute appointment was ordered over the weekend by Christopher Miller, then the acting defense secretary, prompting Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call for an inspector general investigation of his selection and request that the Pentagon stop his swearing-in.

The Trump administration, not surprisingly, ignored Pelosi, and Ellis began work Tuesday. But his work at the National Security Agency lasted less than two full days.

He will remain on administrative leave while his hiring is investigated by the Pentagon’s inspector general.

By The Associated Press

Residents of a tiny Indian village surrounded by rice paddies flocked to a Hindu temple, setting off firecrackers and praying and as they watched Kamala Harris, who has strong roots to the village, take her oath of office and become the US vice president on Wednesday.

Groups of women in bright saris and men wearing white dhoti pants watched the inauguration live as reporters broadcast the villagers’ celebrations to millions of Indians. The villagers chanted “Long live Kamala Harris” while holding portraits of her and blasted off fireworks the moment she took the oath.

Earlier, the villages adorned their temple with flowers, offering special prayers for Harris’s success. Her maternal grandfather was born in the village of Thulasendrapuram, about 215 miles from the southern coastal city of Chennai.

By The Associated Press

A group of protesters carrying anti-President Joe Biden and anti-police signs marched Wednesday in Portland streets and damaged the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Oregon, police said.

Some in the group of about 150 people smashed windows and spray-painted anarchist symbols at the political party building. Police said eight arrests were made in the area. Some demonstrators carried a sign reading, “We don’t want Biden, we want revenge!” in response to “police murders” and “imperialist wars.”

Police said on Twitter that officers on bicycles had entered the crowd to contact someone with a weapon and to remove poles affixed to a banner that they thought could be used as a weapon.

By Matt Viser and Carol D. Leonnig, The Washington Post

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emoff will not be immediately moving into the Naval Observatory while work is done on the 128-year-old home, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

They are intending to move to a temporary residence while the repairs, which involve liners in the chimney and other maintenance, according to a person close to Harris, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not have authorization to speak publicly.

Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, has a two-bedroom condominium where she will stay during the construction, according to one of the people familiar with the arrangement.

By Sheila Kaplan, New York Times

Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, who became commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic began, resigned Wednesday as the administration of President Joe Biden began.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, the longtime head of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Review, will serve as acting commissioner, according to an agency official.

Beginning in May, Woodcock had been assigned to Operation Warp Speed, the former administration’s program to accelerate vaccine and treatment development against the coronavirus.

By Christine Mui, Globe Correspondent

Brayden Harrington, the 13-year-old from Boscawen, N.H. who bonded with Joe Biden on the campaign trail over their shared experience of stuttering, took part in “Celebrating America,” the TV special honoring the new president Wednesday night.

He joined basketball legend Kareem Abdul Jabar, labor leader Doris Huerta and Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng, to recite passages from the inaugural addresses of four presidents.

Dressed in a crisp bow-tie and blazer, Brayden read from President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address which included the iconic line, “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

By Sheera Frenkel and Alan Feuer, New York Times

After the presidential election last year, the Proud Boys, a far-right group, declared its undying loyalty to President Donald Trump.

In a Nov. 8 post in a private channel of messaging app Telegram, the group urged its followers to attend protests against an election that it said had been fraudulently stolen from Trump. “Hail Emperor Trump,” the Proud Boys wrote.

But by this week, the group’s attitude toward Trump had changed. “Trump will go down as a total failure,” the Proud Boys said in the same Telegram channel Monday.

By The Associated Press

World leaders welcomed into their ranks the new US President Joe Biden, noting their most pressing problems, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, require multilateral cooperation, an approach his predecessor Donald Trump ridiculed.

Many expressed hope Biden would right US democracy two weeks after rioters stormed the Capitol, shaking the faith of those fighting for democracy in their own countries.

Governments targeted and sanctioned under Trump embraced the chance for a fresh start with Biden, while some heads of state who lauded Trump’s blend of nationalism and populism were more restrained in their expectations.

By Brittany Bowker, Globe Staff

The nation’s capital saw a dramatic fireworks display late Wednesday night, illuminating the sky in celebration of the swearing in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The display started after performer Katy Perry finished her hit “Firework” at the “Celebrating America” event, where a number of celebrities showcased their talent in celebration of the new White House administration. Other performers included Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, the Foo Fighters, and Justin Timberlake.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden watched the end of the day’s events from a balcony in the White House on Wednesday night. The Bidens’ grandchildren danced and clapped on the balcony. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, watched the fireworks from the steps of the Washington Monument after Harris delivered brief remarks.

Here’s a look at the display that concluded the event.

VP talks up ‘American aspiration’ in 1st speech — 9:52 p.m.

Kamala Harris talked about the power of “American aspiration” in her first speech to the nation as vice president.

With the Washington Monument lit up behind her Wednesday night, Harris called on Americans to remember “we are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome, that we will rise up.”

She also cast her ascension as the first female vice president as a demonstration of the nation’s character.

Borrowing a line she frequently used on the campaign trail, she said, “We not only see what has been — we see what can be.”

Harris gave a nod to American scientists, parents and teachers who are persevering through the coronavirus pandemic and encouraged people to “see beyond crises.” She spoke during President Joe Biden’s “Celebrating America” event to mark the inauguration.

White House Press Secretary Psaki shows new tone in first Biden press briefing — 9:29 p.m.

By The Associated Press

If there’s one thing clear after White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s first session with reporters on Wednesday, it’s that she’s determined to minimize drama in the briefing room.

Her 31-minute news conference stood in stark contrast to Sean Spicer’s first time before reporters four years earlier. Spicer made the plainly false claim that President Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd was the largest in history, which he later said he regretted.

Psaki’s session was sedate, even boring at times, due at least in part to the newness of the administration.

By Liz Goodwin, Globe Staff

President Biden ran on a message of unifying a divided country, and in his inaugural address Wednesday, he asked for help.

Issuing a sober call for action at the site of an insurrection, Biden challenged Americans to join him in that daunting undertaking.

“On this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation,” he said in his 20-minute speech. “And I ask every American to join me in this cause.”

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Avril Haines as director of national intelligence, giving President Joe Biden the first member of his Cabinet and placing the first woman in charge of the nearly two-decade old agency.

Haines, a former deputy director of the CIA and deputy national security adviser in the Obama administration, was confirmed with an overwhelming 84-10 vote, signaling a bipartisan desire for confirming Biden’s national security nominees and installing strong leadership after four turbulent years for the intelligence community.

The Associated Press

The federal government has launched a new website that will serve as a clearinghouse for records from former President Donald Trump’s administration.

The National Archives and Records Administration announced the website on Wednesday. Eventually, it will be a repository of archived Trump-era documents, including his White House website and social media accounts. It will also offer information about accessing other records from Trump’s tenure.

The agency maintains records going back to President Herbert Hoover’s administration, which ended in 1933.

But there are questions about how meticulous the Trump administration was about keeping records. Trump was cavalier about a law requiring their preservation. He had a habit of ripping up documents before tossing them out.

That’s led some historians and archivists to worry that there will be a gaping hole in the history of Trump’s tumultuous four years in office.

Watch some of the highlights from the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Oval Office gets slight makeover under Biden — 6:30 p.m.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden has given the Oval Office a slight makeover.

Biden revealed the new décor Wednesday as he invited reporters into his new office to watch him sign a series of executive orders hours after he took office.

A bust of Cesar Chavez, the labor leader and civil rights activist, is nestled among an array of framed family photos displayed on a desk behind the new president.

Benjamin Franklin peers down at Biden from a portrait on a nearby wall.

Biden brought a dark blue rug out of storage to replace a lighter colored one installed by former President Donald Trump.

One office feature remains: Biden is also using what’s known as the Resolute Desk because it was built from oak used in the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute.

Trump used that desk, too.

Biden tells appointees: ‘We work for the people’ — 6:23 p.m.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden is reminding his federal appointees and staff that “we work for the people” and is calling on them to be “decent, honorable and smart.”

Biden swore in nearly 1,000 federal appointees and staff in a virtual ceremony in the State Dining Room at the White House on Wednesday evening. He spoke from behind a lectern, while the appointees appeared at the event via video streams set up on a series of television screens.

Biden said that if any of his appointees treat a colleague with disrespect, he will fire them “on the spot.” He said that mindset had been missing in President Donald Trump’s White House.

The new president also told the group that “we have such an awful lot to do” and said that containing the pandemic and administering COVID-19 vaccines will be the “most consequential logistical thing that’s ever been done in the United States.”

He said he’s “going to make mistakes” but promised during their swearing-in that he will “acknowledge them” when he does.

Pompeo ethos sign removed from State Dept. lobby — 5:45 p.m.

By The Associated Press

One of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s signature achievements has met an abrupt end as a large placard enunciating his “professional ethos” was removed from the State Department’s main entrance.

Workers removed the giant sign from the department’s C Street lobby on Wednesday shortly after President Joe Biden was inaugurated. The placard had been prominently placed near a plaque honoring foreign service staff who died while serving their country, but many career diplomats considered it insulting and filled with unnecessary platitudes.

Department spokesperson Ned Price says, “We are confident that our colleagues do not need a reminder of the values we share.”

Pompeo unveiled his “ethos” statement to great fanfare in April 2019 with an eye toward improving morale. But it had the opposite effect, and many complained it was condescending.

Pompeo foes had accused the secretary and some of his top aides of failing to abide by the precepts of the ethos statement themselves, particularly during Trump’s Ukraine-related impeachment, when they decided not to publicly defend career diplomats.

Biden says Trump left him a ‘very generous’ letter — 5:28 p.m.

By The Associated Press

While his predecessor Donald Trump broke long-standing practice by skipping President Biden’s inauguration, he did follow through on one tradition and left behind a letter for Biden.

The new Democratic president said Trump “wrote a very generous letter.” But Biden said he wouldn’t reveal its contents until he had a chance to speak with Trump.

Biden signs executive orders undoing Trump actions — 5:22 p.m.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden has signed a series of executive orders from the Oval Office hours after his inauguration.

Biden wore a mask while seated behind the Resolute Desk with a stack of orders early Wednesday evening. He said there was “no time to start like today.”

The first order Biden signed was related to the coronavirus pandemic. He also signed an order reentering the U.S. into the Paris climate accord.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden has directed that federal agencies halt all rulemaking until his administration has time to review proposed regulations.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain announced the move in a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies Wednesday afternoon, hours after Biden was sworn in as the nation’s 46th president.

The regulatory freeze order is a staple of presidential transitions, allowing the incoming administration to review the pending actions of their predecessors.

By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

Vice President Harris swore in three new senators Wednesday afternoon, officially giving Democrats control of the chamber.

Before Harris administered the oath, she said she would be swearing in Alex Padilla, who was nominated to fill the seat “created by the resignation of former senator Kamala D. Harris of California,” Harris said with a laugh and to applause.

“That was very weird,” Harris said of reciting her own name during the proceeding.

Also sworn in were two new senators from Georgia, Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock, who defeated Republican incumbents in runoff elections earlier this month.

By Edward Fitzpatrick, Globe Staff

Governor Gina M. Raimondo had been expected to receive the COVID-19 vaccine during the state vaccine program’s second phase, which might not begin until April. But, as President Joe Biden’s nominee for commerce secretary, she was able to get the first dose of vaccine on Tuesday, “as part of a federal effort to vaccinate Cabinet nominees and those in the presidential line of succession,” her office announced.

She received the first of two doses at the Sockanosset Cross Road vaccination site in Cranston, spokeswoman Audrey Lucas said on Wednesday.

By The Associated Press

Vice President Kamala Harris has entered her new office building for the first time in her new role.

Harris was joined Wednesday by her husband, Doug Emhoff, as she entered the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which houses the vice president’s office and is located near the White House.

The marching band of her alma mater, Howard University, helped lead Harris’ procession.

She was joined by her extended family and held hands with one of her young grandnieces, who was beaming and wearing a fur coat meant to mimic one Harris wore as a child.

Shouts of “We love you!” greeted her as she walked along the procession route. She waved at White House staffers gathered to watch and gave one final wave to the crowd before entering the building.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden has entered the White House for the first time as chief executive after walking an abbreviated parade route, still wearing his protective mask amid sounds of “Hail to the Chief.”

The 46th president and first lady Jill Biden walked through a military cordon lining the White House driveway with the flags of U.S. states, leading the first couple to the main entrance under the North Portico on Wednesday.

Biden was expected to immediately begin working, with a stack of executive orders on immigration and other matters awaiting his signature.

The final ceremonial flourish completed an abbreviated inaugural afternoon unlike any Washington has seen, with Biden being seen in person by only a relative smattering of Americans given security lockdowns after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and public health protocols amid the ongoing pandemic.

By The Associated Press

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says he hopes Donald Trump will continue to be the leader of the Republican Party after his election defeat and second impeachment.

The Republican senator said Wednesday during an interview on Fox News that “if you’re wanting to erase Donald Trump from the party, you’re going to get erased.”

Over the course of Trump’s one-term presidency, Graham went from being one of his fiercest critics to being one of his most prominent allies in Congress.

Graham said it was inappropriate for Republicans in Congress to try to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory and called Trump’s comments ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot “a big mistake.” But he says ultimately that it wasn’t a crime and that he blames “the people that came into the Capitol, not him.”

He said he thinks there would be a lot of support for Trump if he ran again in 2024.

He added: “But I’m not worried about 2024. I want to help Biden where I can, I want to get this country back on track.”

By Jazmine Ulloa and Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

The newest members of the House of Representatives have had a busy three weeks.

On Jan. 6, a mob of Trump supports stormed the Capitol as the House and Senate confirmed President Biden’s Electoral College victory; the next week, the House voted to impeach former president Trump for his role in the attack; and today, members attended Biden’s inauguration.

Two newly inducted members of Congress, Representatives Nikema Williams and Sara Jacobs, both of California, reflected on the past few weeks in an interview outside of the Capitol.

“The first Wednesday we had an insurrection on the Capitol, the second Wednesday we voted to impeach the president, and this Wednesday we are here,” Williams said.

They were elated to see Harris sworn in as the first woman and woman of color to serve as vice president, and to welcome barrier-breaking Democrats from Georgia and California to the ranks of the Senate. The milestones were more than just symbolic, Williams stressed.

”The Biden-Harris administration means getting our country back on track, getting our economy back on track, and making sure that so many people that are still suffering from this pandemic can get the care that they need,” she said, staring out into the National Mall, where American flags fluttered in the wind to mark the 400,00 people who have died amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Asked whether she believed Biden could unite the country, Williams turned to a quote from James Baldwin: “I can love and work with anyone except for those people whose disagreement is rooted in my oppression and my denial of my humanity.”

”And so there are some people that I’m absolutely not willing to work with because they don’t even think I should be here, serving in this body,” said Williams, the former chairwoman of Georgia’s Democratic Party. “But then there are people who we have a policy disagreement with, and we can work together, and we can find common ground.”

At inauguration, Bush called Clyburn a ‘savior’ for endorsing Biden — 3:30 p.m.

By The Associated Press

The highest-ranking Black member of Congress says former President George W. Bush lauded his role as a “savior” in helping get President Joe Biden elected to the White House.

U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said Wednesday on a call with reporters that the Republican former president told him ahead of the inaugural ceremony that, if he had not given Biden the boost he did ahead of South Carolina’s primary, “we would not be having this transfer of power today.”

Clyburn says Bush went on to say that Biden was “the only one who could have defeated the incumbent president,” Donald Trump. Trump and the Bush family didn’t get along.

Clyburn’s pivotal endorsement ahead of South Carolina’s Democratic primary helped propel Biden to the nomination. Biden won South Carolina by a margin of nearly 30 points.

Clyburn, South Carolina’s only Democratic representative in Congress, is the dean of the state’s Democrats and the third-ranking member of the U.S. House.

Biden and Harris honor fallen veterans — 3:28 p.m.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden has spent a few of the first moments of his term at Arlington National Cemetery, honoring fallen veterans with three former presidents and their families.

The president, first lady Jill Biden, and newly sworn-in Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, presided over a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider on Wednesday.

After cannon fire rumbled in the distance, Biden saluted as a military band played the national anthem.

Biden and Harris later briefly touched the wreath before bowing their heads in prayer. The president also made the sign of the cross, then he and Harris stood somberly for the playing of taps.

Joining them at the ceremony were former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura and former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary.

Former President Donald Trump flew to Florida before Biden was sworn into office.

Representative Lori Trahan reflects on inauguration day after Capitol siege — 3:06 p.m.

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe staff

Near the wooden stage at the US Capitol Wednesday, Representative Lori Trahan said it all felt “like a new day.”

She had felt hope watching Biden and Harris at the memorial event for COVID-19 victims the day before, and as the two stopped at church before their inauguration ceremony, accompanied by their families and leaders from both parties.

“It just feels like we are on our way to mending this divide and bringing our country back together, and that feels really good after these four years,” she said, standing near her seat with her 27-year-old son, Thomas.

Before heading to the ceremony, Trahan had stopped to thank members of the Massachusetts National Guard for protecting the peaceful transfer power.

The Capitol “feels like a different place than a few weeks ago—and for good reason,” Trahan said.

“But I don’t think the increased security puts a pall on the day,” she added.

‘It’s like we’re coming out of a deep sleep, or a deep coma’ — 3:01 p.m.

By Dasia Moore, Globe staff

For Calogano Chambers, “it’s been a really spiritual week.” The 19-year-old, who identifies as African American and Honduran, said his entire family — mother, stepfather, and siblings — has spent the past several days discussing the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., ongoing racial injustice, and the historic importance of this Inauguration Day.

Today, as his family gathered around the TV in their Mattapan home to watch Biden and Harris being sworn in, Chambers felt reassured.

“I definitely felt the relief. . . just seeing how smoothly everything’s going,” he said. “This inauguration was the thing where it was like, okay, we’ve been through so much bad from the previous year. Let’s start things off right.”

He also felt hope for the country’s future, even as political work remains.

“It’s like we’re coming out of a deep sleep, or a deep coma,” he said. “But the work … still needs to be put to the forefront in order, I think, for our government to work, our cities to work, our country to work.”

Biden staffers move into White House — 2:44 p.m.

By The Associated Press

President Joe Biden’s team has started moving into the White House.

The building began humming again with activity a few hours after Biden’s inauguration Wednesday as staff for the new president started moving into their offices, unpacking belongings and getting the badges that grant them easy access to the property.

New press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that she was “in the building and ready to get to work.” Psaki has scheduled the new administration’s first White House press briefing for later Wednesday.

Biden plans to sign a flurry of executive orders, some overturning actions by former President Donald Trump, once he gets to the Oval Office.

The White House had been largely emptied out of staff after Trump flew to Florida on Wednesday morning, skipping his successor’s swearing-in.

Biden and Harris inspect troops from Capitol steps — 2:15 p.m.

By Associated Press

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have taken part in the traditional inaugural military tradition of “Pass in Review.”

Biden, Harris and their spouses stood Wednesday on the East Front steps of the U.S. Capitol to observe the procession of ceremonial military regiments.

Several groupings passed by the steps, with military members saluting the newly minted president and musicians playing traditional patriotic tunes.

The inaugural parade that typically follows was to be replaced by a virtual parade later in the day because of concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the procession, the couples climbed into vehicles to travel to Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They were to be joined by the former presidents who attended the earlier inaugural ceremony.

Some seeking symbolism note that it drizzled at Trump’s inauguration but the sun came out during Biden’s — 2:12 p.m.

By Steve Annear, Globe Staff

Those seeking a bit of symbolism in the transition of power from outgoing President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden looked to the skies on Wednesday.

After some flurries at the start of the Inauguration ceremonies, the sun suddenly appeared before Biden delivered a speech about unifying the nation under his administration.

As the light broke through, some people on social media pointed out that the moment was in sharp contrast to the day Trump became president in 2017, when a slight drizzle fell as he delivered his address.

By Associated Press

Congressional leaders have presented President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with a variety of gifts, including a pair of flags flown over the U.S. Capitol during the inauguration.

The presentations to the officials and their respective spouses happened Wednesday in lieu of a congressional luncheon that typically follows the inauguration ceremony.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said Lenox had crafted a pair of commemorative vases for Biden and Harris, each weighing 32 pounds (14.5 kilograms).

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell gifted them with a pair of U.S. flags that were flown over the Capitol during the inauguration. McConnell noted that both Biden and Harris served in the Senate and “skipped the House altogether.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer presented photos from Wednesday’s ceremony.

Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri noted that the Smithsonian had loaned a painting titled “Landscape with Rainbow” by a notable Black painter from around the time of the Civil War.

By Associated Press

Vice President Kamala Harris has now taken on a role that would have typically been performed by the outgoing president.

Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, stood on the U.S. Capitol steps Wednesday to bid farewell to her predecessor, former Vice President Mike Pence, and his wife, Karen.

The two couples stood and chatted for a few moments, even laughing, on the steps before the Pences got into a vehicle and were driven away.

President Donald Trump typically would have performed the sendoff for his second-in-command but opted to skip Wednesday’s inaugural festivities.

Trump and his wife, Melania, went straight from the White House to Joint Base Andrews earlier Wednesday. He gave a campaign-style farewell speech before boarding Air Force One for a final time as president and traveling to his home in Florida.

Pence opted not to attend that event, instead attending Biden’s inauguration.

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

The leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston on Wednesday said he hoped newly inaugurated President Biden and Vice President Harris will enact policies that help the “forgotten and vulnerable” as the nation looks to a new administration in the White House.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley made his thoughts known in a written statement.

“Today we offer our prayers and best wishes for President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as they undertake the important work of governing our nation,” O’Malley said. “We ask God’s blessings on them for good health, wisdom in all their decisions and their work of building bridges of reconciliation.”

By Zoe Greenberg, Globe Staff

Lori Leonard Mahoney, of Medford, couldn’t sleep last night — her heart was beating too fast. For the first time in a long time, she felt hopeful.

“When my kid woke up at 5:30 am, I bounced out of bed,” Mahoney, 39, said. She has struggled through the pandemic; she was laid off from her job as a creative director and her three-year-old was stuck at home for weeks without childcare.

But Inauguration Day promised a new beginning. Mahoney will show her son the swearing-in when he gets home from daycare, so he can see a woman taking on one of the most powerful roles in the country for the first time.

“He’s going to grow up with that being normal. It’s just normal,” she said, almost in disbelief. She has been trying to explain the political consequences of the Inauguration to her young son as well.

“I can only really phrase it in terms of good guys and bad guys,” she said. “I’ve just been telling him, the good guys are going to help us now, and the bad guys are going home.”

By Zoe Greenberg, Globe Staff

Dr. Sharma Joseph, an anesthesiologist, spent the past 24 hours working in the ICU at Tufts Medical Center, which is filled with COVID-19 patients. She returned home to Roxbury at 9:30 in the morning — with no plans of going to sleep. She wanted to watch history unfold.

“I’m kind of running on adrenaline at this point,” she said laughing. “Since the announcement that Biden won, I’ve been counting down the days for this moment to arrive.”

Joseph’s family in Canada, the West Indies and the Caribbean have been watching the transition closely, texting her about it from afar. At home watching CNN, she was moved by the pomp and circumstance of the day, the flags waving, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden walking up the steps. It reminded her of the moment when first year medical students take an oath.

“It brings this renewal and breath of fresh air and optimism,” Joseph said, even for those who feel jaded by years in the field.

She felt that same spirit watching the country’s new leadership take their place.

By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

President Biden has tweeted for the first time as president from his official government Twitter account, saying he is “heading to the Oval Office to get right to work.”

“There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face. That’s why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families,” the tweet read. It was an apparent reference to a number of executive orders Biden is slated to sign later Wednesday in his first acts as president that will reverse a number of former president Trump’s moves on immigration, climate change, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took over the official @POTUS and @VP Twitter accounts at noon Wednesday after they were sworn into office, though they did not get to keep the millions of followers the accounts amassed under Trump and former vice president Mike Pence’s tenure.

By Associated Press

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, N.H., and Lansing, Mich. 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.

By Dasia Moore, Globe Staff

Local members of Vice President Kamala Harris’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, gathered virtually to mark their soror’s historic achievement. Over the last year, chapters of the oldest Greek letter organization founded by Black women mobilized to support Harris, first in her bid to be the country’s first Black woman president and then in her vice presidential candidacy.

Members of Boston’s AKA Psi Omega chapter tuned in to a virtual watch party beginning at 10 a.m., many decked out in pearls and the sorority’s signature pink and green. All 169 chapter members were expected to join the Zoom event throughout the day.

“It’s a very emotional day for us, and one that we never thought would be coming,” said Chenita Daughtry, the chapter’s membership chair. “But it’s here.”

After months of supporting Harris, the women said they were disappointed that COVID-19 and security concerns had prevented them from celebrating one of their own together in D.C.

“We enjoy each other, and we love gathering, so to have the inauguration kind of taken away from us … is a little sad,” said chapter president Kathy Lucas. Lucas said the group would be praying for Harris as the new administration takes office on the heels of antidemocratic attacks.

But the day’s challenges did not overshadow its excitement.

“Seeing her go from presidential candidate to vice presidential candidate to the vice president-elect to today… taking her oath, it is just incredibly joyous for us,” Lucas said.

By Associated Press

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 nation’s 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 President’s 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.

By Associated Press

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. That’s what I’m focusing on.”

Her husband, Vernal Crooms, who attended Howard University at the same time as Harris but didn’t know her, said he was happy to see the Donald Trump era end.

He said, “We’ve turned the page. Light prevailed and the lie didn’t last.”

By Diti Kohli, Globe Correspondent

Harvard graduate and National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman delivered an original composition promoting unity and equity on the steps of the Capitol Wednesday afternoon as the youngest inaugural poet in history.

Titled “The Hill We Climb,” Gorman’s spoken word poem touched on the country’s deep-sown division just days after the attack on the Capitol building, in the middle of a raging global pandemic.

Amanda Gorman, 22, the youngest inauguration poet in U.S. history, reads her poem "The Hill We Climb" during the inauguration of President Joe Biden Wednesday. (Video via C-SPAN, Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty)

By Associated Press

Garth Brooks has sung a gospel-tinged and beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

The country superstar took off his black cowboy hat and kept his eyes closed for much of the powerful song, performing it a capella and without strain.

He offered a few dazzling smiles as the sun broke through the crowd and asked the audience to sing a verse with him. He said, “Not just the people here, but the people at home, to work as one united.”

After it was over, Brooks shook hands with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Brooks performed during the inaugural celebration of President Barack Obama in 2009. He turned down a chance to play for President Donald Trump in 2017, citing a scheduling conflict.

By Associated Press

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.”

By Associated Press

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.

Joe Biden has been sworn in as the nation's 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AP, Video via C-SPAN)

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 Biden’s chair on the dais, has a Celtic cross on its cover and was also used each time he was sworn in as a U.S. senator.

Biden’s 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 father’s 2013 ceremony.

By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president, making history as the first woman and first Black and South Asian person to serve in the office.

The former California senator was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Kamala Harris sworn in as vice president (Video via C-SPAN, Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)

By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

The inaugural ceremony began Wednesday morning with Lady Gaga singing the national anthem and Andrea Hall reciting the pledge of allegiance.

Lady Gaga performed the national anthem at the inauguration for president-elect Joe Biden. (Video via C-SPAN, Greg Nash/Pool Photo via AP)

Before that, Father Leo O’Donovan delivered the invocation.

Trump pardons Judge Jeanine’s ex-husband, Al — 11:40 a.m.

By The Associated Press

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. Pirro’s pardon was announced just after Trump landed in Florida after leaving the White House and before Joe Biden was inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president.

Jeanine Pirro hosts Fox News Channel’s “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.

Biden, Harris inauguration ceremony begins — 11:15 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Joe Biden’s 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 Biden’s 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. It’s devoid of crowds because of the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mike Pence arrives at inauguration — 11:10 a.m.

By The Associated Press

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 Biden’s expected swearing-in ceremony.

Pence is representing the outgoing Trump administration at Biden’s 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 Pence’s 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.”

Former Republican leaders among those at inauguration — 11:05 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Former Republican leaders and lawmakers are among those gathering at the Capitol for President-elect Joe Biden’s 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 nation’s institutions. He said he was there “out of respect for the peaceful transfer of power.”

Former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona says it’s “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 it’s 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.”

Trump arrives in Florida as Biden is set to be sworn in — 11:04 a.m.

By The Associated Press

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 Biden’s inauguration.

Trump’s plane flew low along the coast as Biden’s inauguration played on TV on Fox News Channel.

Trump’s 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

Mayor Walsh in attendance at inauguration — 10:54 a.m.

By Danny McDonald, Globe staff

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh is attending Biden’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, the mayor’s office confirmed.

Walsh, who is Biden’s choice for Labor secretary, plans to fly back to Boston Wednesday night and is “observing all of the relevant COVID-19 testing and travel protocols,” a spokesman said in an e-mail.

The inauguration of Biden and Harris is taking place with fewer people in attendance than in past years, due to COVID and security restrictions.

Capitol Officer Eugene Goodman to escort Harris to inauguration — 10:54 a.m.

By Amanda Kaufman, Globe staff

Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who has been credited with leading a group of rioters away from the Senate chamber during the Capitol attack, will be escorting Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to the inauguration ceremony.

Goodman, who is Black, was seen in a widely circulated video appearing to provoke rioters who stormed the Capitol in order to encourage them to follow him up a flight of stairs, away from the chamber that had reportedly not yet been secured.

Goodman, in his new role as acting Senate sergeant-at-arms, could be seen walking into the Capitol with Harris, her husband Douglas Emhoff, and President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.

Biden, Harris arrive at Capitol for swearing-in — 10:50 a.m.

By the Associated Press

From left: Doug Emhoff, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, incoming First Lady Jill Biden, and President-elect Joe Biden arrive for the inauguration.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

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-elect’s 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.

Crowds begin to fill in at the Capitol — 10:21 a.m.

By Jazmine Ulloa and Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

Attendees of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration are arriving at the Capitol.

So far, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Bernie Sanders, former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush could be seen arriving.

Former presidents arrive at the inauguration
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton arrive at the inauguration. (Video via C-SPAN, AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

‘This is your time’: Obama congratulates Biden ahead of inauguration — 10:02 a.m.

By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff

Former president Barack Obama congratulated President-elect Joe Biden Wednesday morning before he is sworn into office.

“Congratulations to my friend, President @JoeBiden! This is your time,” Obama wrote on Twitter, along with a photo of the two.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, are attending Biden’s inauguration Wednesday afternoon along with former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and their spouses.

Acting attorney general resigns as Biden enters — 9:57 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will resign when President-elect Joe Biden takes the oath of office.

The Justice Department says Rosen’s 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.

Trump leaves behind note for Biden — 9:39 a.m.

By The Associated Press

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 Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. Trump also did not invite Biden to the White House for a meeting after Biden was declared the winner of November’s presidential election

Trump left the White House for the final time as president on Wednesday morning, saying, “It’s been a great honor, the honor of a lifetime.”

Inauguration attendees face maze of security, social distancing requirements — 9:20 a.m.

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe staff

WASHINGTON—Inauguration attendees early Wednesday made their way through a maze of security checkpoints and black fences topped with barbed wire at the US Capitol, as thousands of troops and police officers established a perimeter around the building that stretched for miles.

On the West Front of the Capitol, a crowd of mostly reporters, troops, and staffers awaited the start of the ceremony, many bundled in heavy coats and trying to keep warm to the tune of marching band music on a sunny, frigid day.

A Jumbotron flashed presidential inauguration trivia, footage from past inaugurations, and speeches from Democratic and Republican leaders.

Foldout chairs have been spaced six feet apart in front of the wooden stage constructed on the Capitol steps, where an American flag and banners hung. Attendees — all of whom had to present a negative COVID-19 test within the past 48 hours from approved testing facilities to be allowed in — have been told to keep their distance from each other.

Far from the stage, on the National Mall, tens of thousands of small American flags fluttered in the wind, commemorating the people who could not attend Biden’s inauguration.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority shut down 14 stations near the Capitol.

Biden attends church before swearing-in — 8:51 a.m.

By The Associated Press

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 Washington’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. With them are incoming Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff.

At Biden’s 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. John’s Episcopal Church, sometimes called “Church of the Presidents,” for the inaugural day service. Biden is the second Catholic U.S. president, and St. Matthew’s is the seat of the Catholic archbishop of Washington.

Biden spent Tuesday night at Blair House, a traditional move ahead of a president’s inauguration.

Trump leaves White House, boards Marine One — 8:18 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Donald Trump walked out of the White House and boarded Marine One for the last time as president Wednesday morning, leaving behind a legacy of chaos and tumult and a nation bitterly divided.

Trump emerged from the building Wednesday morning and strode across the South Lawn to board Marine One. He said, “It’s been a great honor, the honor of a lifetime.”

Trump headed to Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland, where he had a military sendoff. A red carpet was placed on the tarmac for Trump to walk as he boards the plane. Four U.S. Army cannons were set up for a 21-gun salute. Trump then flies to Florida, where he’ll stay at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump is leaving Washington just hours before Joe Biden takes the oath of office as the 46th president. It’s the first time in more than a century that a sitting president has rejected the tradition of attending his successor’s inauguration.

Biden speech to look forward, not dwell on Trump — 8:04 a.m.

By The Associated Press

Two of the Biden administration’s top communications officials are describing the incoming president’s inaugural address as a forward-looking speech that will make little to no mention of his predecessor.

Communications director Kate Bedingfield told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Wednesday that President-elect Joe Biden’s 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 Biden’s inaugural address is “definitely not a speech about Donald Trump” and she “wouldn’t 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.

Heavy security as D.C. prepares for Biden swearing-in — 7:47 a.m.

By The Associated Press

As the sun rose over Washington’s Freedom Plaza between the U.S. Capitol and the White House ahead of Joe Biden’s 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.”

No-go for Joe Exotic: Trump pardon list omits ‘Tiger King’ — 7:28 a.m.

The Associated Press

One name missing in President Donald Trump’s flurry of pardons is “Tiger King” Joe Exotic.

His team was so confident in a pardon that they’d readied a celebratory limousine and a hair and wardrobe team to whisk away the zookeeper-turned-reality-TV-star, who is now serving a 22-year federal prison sentence in Texas. But he wasn’t on the list announced Wednesday morning.

The Associated Press

The European Union’s top officials breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday that Joe Biden will be taking over as president of the United States, but they warned that the world has changed after four years of Donald Trump and that trans-Atlantic ties will be different in the future.

“This new dawn in America is the moment we’ve been awaiting for so long,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, hailing Biden’s arrival as “resounding proof that, once again after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.”

“The United States are back, and Europe stands ready to reconnect with an old and trusted partner to breathe new life into our cherished alliance,” she told EU lawmakers, hours before Biden was to be sworn in at his inauguration ceremony in Washington.

By Dan Diamond, Washington Post

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to ask for the resignation of US Surgeon General Jerome Adams after being sworn in Wednesday, ousting the nation’s top doctor in a symbolic break with his predecessor’s COVID-19 response, said two people with knowledge of the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

Adams, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, was sworn in as surgeon general on Sept. 5, 2017, to serve the office’s standard four-year term, which expires this September. The anesthesiologist and former Indiana health commissioner - a political independent who crafted a close relationship with then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence - had emerged as a key spokesman for Trump’s coronavirus response, regularly appearing on national TV and using social media to advocate for public health measures like social distancing. However, Adams’ visibility also made him a target last spring for Democrats, who accused him of defending Trump’s statements.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, in one of his final acts of office, released current and former members of his administration from the terms of their ethics pledge, which included a five-year ban on lobbying their former agencies.

The ethics pledge was outlined in one of Trump’s first executive orders, signed on Jan. 28, 2017, as part of his campaign pledge to “drain the swamp.” It required Trump’s political appointees to agree to the lobbying ban, as well as pledge not to undertake work that would require them to register as a “foreign agent” after leaving government. Trump’s order authorized the attorney general to investigate any breaches of the ethics pledge and to pursue civil suits if necessary.

By The Associated Press

In his first official acts as president, Joe Biden is signing executives orders on a broad range of issues, from the coronavirus pandemic to climate change and immigration, to fulfill campaign promises.

Here are some highlights of actions Biden is taking Wednesday.

By The Associated Press

A tiny, lush-green Indian village surrounded by rice paddy fields was beaming with joy Wednesday hours before its descendant, Kamala Harris, takes her oath of office and becomes the US vice president.

Harris is set to make history as the first woman, first woman of color and first person of South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency.

In her maternal grandfather’s hometown of Thulasendrapuram, about 215 miles from the southern coastal city of Chennai, people were jubilant and gearing up for celebrations.

By The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden moves into the White House on Wednesday facing many weighty issues: a global pandemic. A crushing recession. Racial injustice. Right-wing extremism.

But Biden’s personal weight-control and exercise regimen will face a different kind of burning question: Can he bring his Peloton bike with him?

The answer, cybersecurity experts say, is yes. Sort of. But more on that later.

By The Associated Press

The inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden will take place in a Washington on edge, after the deadly riot at the US Capitol unleashed a wave of fear and unmatched security concerns. And law enforcement officials are contending not only with the potential for outside threats but also with rising concerns about an insider attack by troops with a duty to protect him.

There have been no specific threats made against Biden.

The nation’s capital is essentially on lockdown. More than 25,000 troops and police have been called to duty. Tanks and concrete barriers block the streets. The National Mall is closed. Fencing lines the perimeter of the US Capitol complex. Checkpoints sit at intersections. The US Secret Service, which is in charge of the event, says it is prepared.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has pardoned former chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of a late flurry of clemency action benefiting nearly 150 people, including rap stars and former members of Congress.

The pardons and commutations for 143 people, including Bannon, were announced after midnight Wednesday in the final hours of Trump’s White House term.

By The New York Times

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who was charged with defrauding political donors who supported building a border wall that Trump supported, White House officials said.

The president made the decision after a day of frantic efforts to sway his thinking, including from Bannon, who spoke to him by phone Tuesday.

The pardon was described as a preemptive move that would effectively wipe away the charges against Bannon, should he be convicted.

By The Washington Post

The same day he stormed the U.S. Capitol, pushing past rows of police officers and congregating with hundreds of other people on the Senate floor, Leo Christopher Kelly sat for an interview and talked about what he did.

Kelly described how he listened to President Donald Trump rile up thousands of his supporters outside the White House on Jan. 6 before the crowd streamed down Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues toward the Capitol. By the time Kelly arrived, he said, barricades had been pushed aside, rioters were scaling the building’s scaffolding, and others were racing up the stairs.

By The Associated Press

President Trump is expected to pardon his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as part of a flurry of last-minute clemency action that appeared to be still in flux in the last hours of his presidency, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, stressed that Trump has flip-flopped repeatedly as he mulls his final clemency action, and warned the decision could be reversed until it’s formally unveiled.

Trump is expected to offer pardons and commutations to as many as 100 people in the hours before he leaves office at noon Wednesday, according to two people briefed on the plans. The list is expected to include names unfamiliar to the American public — regular people who have spent years languishing in prison — as well as politically connected friends and allies like those he’s pardoned in the past.

By The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump spent his final full day in office Tuesday the same way he spent many of his 1,460 prior days as president: brooding over imagined injustices, plotting retribution against perceived enemies and seeking ways to maximize his power.

But the same attributes that abetted Trump’s political rise, animated his followers and became hallmarks of his turbulent single term have now, in the twilight of his presidency, left him a man diminished.

In an indication of his wounded state, the president who took office determined to be omnipresent in American life, with daily and at times hourly appearances before the press corps, was almost entirely absent from public view as he prepared to vacate the White House on Wednesday morning.

By The Washington Post

Self-styled militia members from Virginia, Ohio, and other states made plans to storm the US Capitol days before the Jan. 6 attack, then communicated in real time as they breached the building on opposite sides and talked about hunting for lawmakers, according to new court documents filed Tuesday.

While authorities have charged more than 100 individuals in the riots, details in the new allegations against three US military veterans show what they allegedly said to each other before, during and after the attack - statements that indicate a degree of preparation and determination to rush deep into the halls and tunnels of Congress to make “citizens’ arrests” of elected officials.

By Jess Bidgood and Liz Goodwin, Globe staff

WASHINGTON — When Joe Biden first arrived in Washington, he was deeply worried America was reaching a breaking point amid a failed presidency, and he believed the country already had the tools it needed to fix the mess.

“What ties us together,” he said, “are the political institutions that have made this country great.”

That was 1973, shortly after Biden was elected to the Senate as the Watergate scandal eroded Americans’ trust in government and deepened the country’s partisan divides. It marked the beginning of a long career in politics that rewarded his faith in institutions and the nuts and bolts of governance.

By Victoria McGrane, Globe staff

When Joe Biden places his hand on the Bible around noon on Wednesday, tens of millions of Americans will exhale in relief, grateful that the tumultuous Trump administration has reached its official end.

Biden campaigned on a promise of returning normalcy to the country. No place craves that more than the nation’s capital, the epicenter of the chaos Trump sowed for four years. Even those ideologically predisposed to disagree with the incoming administration say they’re ready for a more conventional government again.

But getting back to normal, if that is even possible anymore, is a tall order.

By Jess Bidgood, Globe staff

WASHINGTON — President Trump came to power by offering to blow up staid Republican politics, and he will leave power on Wednesday with the wreckage in his wake.

Four years after molding itself around Trump’s whims and purging anyone seen as disloyal to him, Republicans have lost control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Their standard-bearer, the only president to ever be impeached twice, is departing with the lowest approval rating of his tenure. Members of the party have been rebuked by corporate donors suddenly seeking distance from anyone perceived as enabling Trump or the armed mob that overtook the Capitol in his name.

By The New York Times

Not long after he strides across the White House grounds Wednesday morning for the last time as president, Donald Trump will step into a financial minefield that appears to be unlike anything he has faced since his earlier brushes with collapse.

The tax records that he has long fought to keep hidden, revealed in a New York Times investigation in September, detailed his financial challenges:

Many of his resorts were losing millions of dollars a year even before the pandemic struck. Hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, which he personally guaranteed, must be repaid within a few years. He has burned through much of his cash and easy-to-sell assets. And a decade-old IRS audit threatens to cost him more than $100 million to resolve.

By The Washington Post

The Fox News executive who oversaw its election-night “decision desk” is retiring at the end of the month, a move due in part to what Rupert Murdoch and other top network leaders viewed as a mishandling of the network’s early Arizona projection for Joe Biden.

Bill Sammon, 62, Fox News Channel’s senior vice president and managing editor in Washington, told staffers Monday morning about his retirement. His role will be absorbed by existing editorial staffers. A spokesperson declined to comment on the reason for his retirement.

His announcement came as Fox laid off nearly 20 staffers Tuesday, including Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt, who worked on the decision desk with Sammon. Fox declined to comment specifically on Stirewalt, citing employee confidentiality. His departure shocked many inside the building who bemoaned the loss of a respected Washington voice at a time when the conservative-leaning network is navigating its future after the Trump administration.

By The Associated Press

At a memorial for the lives taken by COVID-19, President-elect Joe Biden is calling on Americans to remember those lost to the coronavirus and to begin to heal.

Biden said Tuesday night, on the eve of his inauguration, that although it’s “hard sometimes to remember,” it’s “how we heal.”

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, speaking before him, emphasized a similar note of unity. While Americans have been grieving alone for most of the pandemic, Harris said, “Tonight we grieve, and begin healing, together.”

The memorial included an invocation from Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who asked that “our prayer strengthen our awareness of our common humanity and our national unity.” A Detroit nurse, Lori Marie Key, sang “Amazing Grace,” noting that the song gives her strength during hard times.

The remembrance ceremony was held at the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, which was lit up with 400 lights in honor of the 400,000 Americans who have died from the virus. After Biden’s brief remarks, gospel singer Yolanda Adams sang “Hallelujah.”

By The Associated Press

Federal authorities presented new details on Tuesday about three self-described members of a paramilitary group who are the first to be charged with plotting the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The FBI said a Virginia man, Thomas Edward Caldwell, appeared to be a leader of the effort. Caldwell and a man and woman from Ohio were all charged with conspiracy and other federal counts, the first of more than 125 people arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 assault to be charged with conspiracy.

By Danny McDonald, Globe Staff

The state’s chief elections officer is calling on Massachusetts residents to use President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday “as a day to affirm and celebrate American democracy.”

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin is urging citizens to use the event as an opportunity to register at least one person to vote and to encourage teachers to incorporate information about elections into their lesson plans on Wednesday.

By The Associated Press

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominees to lead his national security team promised a turnabout from the Trump administration’s approach on the world stage, saying Tuesday they would keep partisan politics out of intelligence agencies, restore an emphasis on cooperating with international allies, and push for a stronger American leadership role.

Antony Blinken, Biden’s choice to be secretary of state, pledged to repair damage done to the State Department and America’s image abroad over the past four years while continuing a tougher approach to China. He said he planned to restore career officials to prominent positions in the department and strive to promote inclusivity in the ranks for the diplomatic corps.

By The Associated Press

President Donald Trump offered rare, kind words to his successor in a farewell video, while failing to address him by name, as he spent his final full day in office preparing to issue a flurry of pardons in a near-deserted White House, surrounded by an extraordinary security presence outside.

“This week we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous,” Trump said in the video “farewell address,” released by the White House Tuesday afternoon. “We extend our best wishes. And we also want them to have luck. A very important word.”

By Anissa Gardizy, Globe Correspondent

Following the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, a host of corporations are pulling financial support for officials who voted to reject the Electoral College votes in an effort to overturn results of the presidential election won by Joe Biden.

Here’s a running list of local companies that are halting and reviewing their political giving strategies. These companies join many others across the county, including American Express, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Comcast, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Marriott International.

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

Authorities said Tuesday that things remain quiet on the security front in Massachusetts leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden in Washington D.C. Wednesday, which comes two weeks after a pro-Trump mob attacked the US Capitol in a siege that left at least five people dead including a police officer.

Kristen Setera, a spokeswoman for the FBI Boston office, provided an update on the local security situation Tuesday in a statement.

By The Associated Press

Two U.S. Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups, according to two U.S. Army officials. There was no threat to President-elect Joe Biden, they said.

The officials did not say which fringe group the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The removal comes as the FBI has warned law enforcement officials about the possibility that right-wing fringe groups could pose as members of the National Guard called in to help secure the city after a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters shocked the nation, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter.

By Associated Press

The founder of MyPillow, a vocal and in the past few weeks very visible supporter of President Donald Trump, says a backlash against the company has begun after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol this month.

Mike Lindell, the company CEO and also the face of the brand, said major retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s have dropped his products recently.

Both companies confirmed the decision to cease carrying the brand Tuesday, but cited flagging sales rather than Lindell’s actions or his support for Trump.

By Associated Press

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell opened the Senate on Tuesday saying the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol was “fed lies” by the president and others in the deadly riot to overturn Democrat Joe Biden election.

McConnell’s remarks are his most severe and public rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump. The Republican leader vowed a “safe and successful” inauguration of Biden on Wednesday at the Capitol, which is under extremely tight security.

“The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of branch of the federal government.”

By The Washington Post

US authorities have leveled the first conspiracy charge against an apparent leader of an extremist group in the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol, arresting an alleged Oath Keeper who is accused of plotting to disrupt the electoral vote confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and proposing further assaults on state capitols.

Thomas Edward Caldwell, 65, of Clarke County, Va., was taken into custody before 7 a.m. on four federal counts, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in the attack on the Capitol. The conspiracy charge is reserved for offenses interfering with or obstructing the lawful operation of government.

A charging affidavit says he helped organize a group of eight to 10 individuals, including self-styled Ohio militia members apprehended Sunday, who wore helmets and military-style gear and were seen moving purposefully toward the top of the Capitol steps and leading the move against police lines.

By Associated Press

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the intelligence community, Avril Haines, promised Tuesday to “speak truth to power” and keep politics out of intelligence agencies to ensure their work is trusted.

“When it comes to intelligence, there is simply no place for politics — ever,” she told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Haines, a former CIA deputy director and former deputy national security adviser in the Obama administration, would enter the job as director of national intelligence, or DNI, following a Trump administration that saw repeated pressure on intelligence officials to shape intelligence to the Republican president’s liking.

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

The nation’s top federal prosecutor warned Tuesday that authorities will have “no tolerance” for anyone who tries to disrupt President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday with violence, following the deadly attack on the US Capitol Jan. 6.

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested a 46-year-old Malden man and a 59-year-old Natick woman for their alleged conduct during the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol that left at least five people dead including a police officer, officials said.

In a statement, the FBI Boston field office confirmed the arrests of Mark G. Sahady, 46, of Malden, and Suzanne Ianni, 59, of Natick. They’re both charged out of federal court in Washington D.C. with entering the Capitol without authorization and disorderly conduct on the grounds of the facility, legal filings show.

By Associated Press

Three new Democratic senators are set to be sworn into office after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday.

The arrival of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California will give Democrats a working majority in the Senate — split 50-50, with the new vice president, Kamala Harris, as the tie-breaking vote.

A person granted anonymity to discuss the planning tells The Associated Press that Harris is set to deliver the oath of office to the three Democrats after she is sworn in during the inauguration as vice president.

Warnock and Ossoff defeated Republican senators earlier this month. The Georgia secretary of state is expected to certify those results Tuesday.

Padilla has been tapped by California’s governor to fill Harris’ remaining term in the Senate.

By Associated Press

Two US Army National Guard members are being removed from the security mission to secure Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. A US Army official and a senior US intelligence official say the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias.

The Army official and the intelligence official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to Defense Department media regulations. They did not say what fringe group the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in.

Contacted by the AP on Tuesday, the National Guard Bureau referred questions to the US Secret Service and said, “Due to operational security, we do not discuss the process nor the outcome of the vetting process for military members supporting the inauguration.”

The Secret Service told the AP on Monday it would not comment on if any National Guard members had been pulled from securing the inauguration for operational security reasons.

By Christina Prignano, Globe staff

The first confirmation hearings for President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees have officially gotten underway.

Senator Rob Portman, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, opened the confirmation hearing for Department of Homeland Security pick Alejandro Mayorkas shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Treasury pick Janet Yellen and director of national intelligence pick Avril Haines also were testifying at their hearings Tuesday morning.

Later in the day, Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken and defense pick retired General Lloyd J. Austin III are expected to face members of the Senate.

Watch Mayorkas’ hearing here, and Yellen’s hearing here.

Blinken says he’s committed to rebuilding State Department — 8 a.m.

By Associated Press

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be America’s top diplomat says he’s ready to confront challenges posed by China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

Secretary of State-designate Antony Blinken also says he’s committed to rebuilding the State Department after four years of atrophy under the Trump administration.

Blinken is set to appear Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In testimony prepared for his appearance, Blinken says he sees a world of rising nationalism and receding democracy. He also says that mounting threats from authoritarian states are reshaping all aspects of human life, particularly in cyberspace.

Blinken says American global leadership still matters and without it rivals will either step in to fill the vacuum or there will be chaos. He says neither choice is palatable.

Blinken also promises to bring Congress in as a full foreign-policy partner, a subtle jab at President Donald Trump’s administration and its secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who routinely ignored or bypassed lawmakers in policy-making.

Five Biden Cabinet picks have confirmation hearings Tuesday — 8:00 a.m.

By Bloomberg News

The day before his inauguration, five of Biden’s cabinet nominees have their confirmation hearings before Senate committees.

Janet Yellen, the former Fed chair who was picked to lead the Treasury Department, will face questioning from the Finance Committee at 10 a.m. EST. At the same time, Biden’s pick to be director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, will appear before the Intelligence Committee, and Alejandro Mayorkas, tapped for the Department of Homeland Security, will testify to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel.

Afternoon hearings on Tuesday include retired General Lloyd Austin, Biden’s choice to lead the Defense Department, and Antony Blinken, his nominee for secretary of state.

Despite hearings beginning before Wednesday’s inauguration, Biden is expected to take office with a cabinet made up largely, if not entirely, of acting secretaries. The confirmation hearings have to be followed by committee votes before the nominations go to the floor of the Senate.

Working to Biden’s advantage: the Senate will shift to Democratic control after Biden becomes president and new senators from Georgia and California are sworn in. At that point, tie breakers in the Senate, which will be divided equally between Republicans and Democrats, will be cast by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden’s pick of Rachel Levine would make her the first openly transgender official confirmed by Senate — 6:10 a.m.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed to her current post by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017, making her one of the few transgender people serving in elected or appointed positions nationwide. She won past confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate and has emerged as the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Someday, perhaps, John Roberts will swear in a new president who doesn’t wish someone else was chief justice of the United States.

Wednesday won’t be that day.

When Roberts leads President-elect Joe Biden in the oath of office, security will be unusually tight following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and inaugural events will be curtailed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But it will be the fourth time that Roberts will stand across from a man who either voted against his confirmation to the Supreme Court or has made no secret of his unflattering views of the chief justice.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden has given himself an imposing to-do list for his earliest days as president and many promises to keep over the longer haul.

Overshadowing everything at the very start is Biden’s effort to win congressional approval of a $1.9 trillion plan to combat the coronavirus and the economic misery it has caused.

Drawn from a review of his campaign statements and a recent memo from Ron Klain, who’ll be his chief of staff, here’s a sampling of measures to expect right away, around the corner and beyond:

By Liz Goodwin, Globe staff

WASHINGTON — A few weeks before the election, President Trump dodged a question about whether he would support a peaceful transition of power should he lose.

“Well, we’ll have to see what happens,” he said.

We saw.

One decisive electoral loss and one failed insurrection later, the Capitol has been transformed into a fortress, guarded by thousands of troops, surrounded by miles of razor-wire-topped fences, and monitored by drones and buzzing helicopters.

The “peaceful transition of power” will now happen under the watchful gaze of up to 25,000 National Guardsmen who have been deployed to Washington, several times more troops than are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - The FBI privately warned law enforcement agencies Monday that far-right extremists have discussed posing as National Guard members in Washington and that others have reviewed maps of vulnerable spots in the city - signs of potential efforts to disrupt Wednesday’s inauguration, according to an intelligence report obtained by The Washington Post.

The document, a summary of threats that the FBI identified in a Monday intelligence briefing, warned that “lone wolves” and adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, some of whom participated in the violent siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6, have indicated that they plan to come to Washington for President-elect Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony.

By The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - After nearly a decade of working for the House of Representatives, the chamber’s top security official thought he knew how its political leadership would react if asked to station troops at the Capitol during a major rally supporting President Donald Trump.

That’s why House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving balked when the chief of Capitol Police suggested activating the National Guard two days before the Jan. 6 event, he later told a friend.

By The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden will arrive in the nation’s capital on Tuesday evening for an inauguration eve ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool honoring the nearly 400,000 people who have died during the coronavirus pandemic that will be his first priority after he is sworn in the next day.

The somber remembrance will kick off two days of in-person and virtual events as Biden takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, becoming the 46th president of the United States at a time of economic struggle and cultural upheaval in the wake of President Donald Trump’s four years in the White House.

By The New York Times

The Pentagon is intensifying efforts to identify and combat white supremacy and other far-right extremism in its ranks as federal investigators seek to determine how many military personnel and veterans joined the violent assault on the Capitol.

In the days since a pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, senior leaders of the 2.1 million active-duty and reserve troops have been grappling with fears that former or current service members will be found among the horde.

By The Washington Post

Senators plan to plow through a battery of hearings Tuesday for President-elect Joe Biden’s national security Cabinet nominees, but the last-minute rush means that most — if not all — will not be confirmed by the end of Inauguration Day.

By The Associated Press

Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is calling on Congress to do more to fight a deep pandemic-induced recession, saying the threats of a longer and even worse downturn are too great to cut back on support now.

“Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now — and long-term scarring of the economy later,” Yellen said in testimony prepared for her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee.

By The Washington Post

Trump met Sunday with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka Trump, and other aides for a significant amount of the day to review a long list of pardon requests and discuss lingering questions about their appeals, according to the people briefed on the meeting. The president was personally engaged with the details of specific cases, one person said.

By The Associated Press

Facing criticism over efforts to produce citizenship data to comply with an order from President Donald Trump, US Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham said Monday that he planned to resign with the change in presidential administrations.

Dillingham said in a statement that he would resign on Wednesday, the day Trump leaves the White House and President-elect Joseph Biden takes office.

By The Washington Post

Authorities are searching for an alleged Capitol rioter who, according to a “former romantic partner,” may have stolen a laptop or hard drive from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the FBI says.

The issue “remains under investigation,” according to a criminal complaint filed Sunday against Riley June Williams, the Pennsylvania woman named in the potential theft and charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

By The New York Times

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is now officially the former U.S. senator from California, after resigning from her seat on Monday, two days before her swearing-in as the No. 2 official in the executive branch.

“Today, as I resign from the Senate, I am preparing to take an oath that would have me preside over it,” Harris wrote in a farewell post to the citizens of her state before handing in her resignation paperwork on Monday.

By The Associated Press

A New York fashion student accused of participating in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol and posting on social media about “storming” it was arrested Monday as the tally of criminal cases kept growing.

Taken into custody at his home in Staten Island, Nicolas Moncada was awaiting a federal court appearance set for Tuesday on charges including entering a restricted building without without lawful authority and disrupting government business.

By The Washington Post

A man with a personal connection to Trump — and whose violent rhetoric Trump promoted to the world — has been arrested because of the Capitol riot. Otero County, N.M., Commissioner Couy Griffin was arrested Sunday for illegally entering the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Griffin, the head of a group called Cowboys for Trump, claims he got caught up with the crowd and didn’t actually enter the building, but the affidavit says video on his personal Facebook page showed him in restricted areas.

By The New York Times

The Justice Department has charged suspected members of the Three Percenters, a militia group that emerged some years ago from the extremist wing of the gun-rights movement, and of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group founded by law enforcement and military veterans, as it works to determine whether the extremist groups conspired to attack Congress.

The charges include unlawful entry, assault on a federal officer, disorderly conduct, destruction of federal property, obstruction of an official proceeding and obstruction of justice.

By The Washington Post

Even before he won the White House, Joe Biden had been unsparing in his criticism of Silicon Valley, practically pleading with Facebook in June to stop President Donald Trump from publishing “wild claims.”

“Anything less,” the Biden campaign said in an open letter, “will render Facebook a tool of misinformation that corrodes our democracy.”

Seven months later, rioters descended on the U.S. Capitol, stormed the House and the Senate, and sought to overturn Biden’s victory - mounting a deadly, failed insurrection that illustrated the corrosive power of Trump’s false online screeds.

The aftermath of that attack now sets the stage for a political reckoning between Washington and Silicon Valley, as long-simmering frustrations with Facebook, Google, Twitter and their digital peers threaten to unleash the most aggressive regulatory assault against the tech industry in its history. On the eve of his inauguration, Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress are pledging to take aim at the country’s largest social media platforms out of concern that they imperil the very fabric of American democracy - and the billions of people who use these digital services every day.

By The New York Times

The swimming coach did not know what to expect when he dialed Klete Keller’s phone number.

An explanation of why Keller, an Olympic gold medalist, had been in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol a week earlier? A defense of his actions, which have left him facing criminal charges? Denial? Rationalizing? Rage?

The last thing he expected was for Keller, the decorated swimmer he had known as a merry prankster, to dissolve into tears.

“He apologized to me,” Mark Schubert, who once trained Keller at the University of Southern California, said in recounting their conversation after Keller’s arrest last week. “He kept repeating, ‘You’ve done so much for me, and I let you down.’ He kept saying over and over, ‘I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.’ "

By The Associated Press

Participants in a rehearsal for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration were evacuated from the West Front of the Capitol on Monday on orders of security officials after a fire in a homeless encampment, officials said.

Those who had gathered for a walk-through, including a military band, were directed to head indoors and moved in the direction of a secure location inside the Capitol complex.

People involved in the rehearsal said security officials yelled “this is not a drill.”

Four law enforcement officials told The Associated Press there had been a blaze several blocks over and the rehearsal was evacuated in an abundance of caution. The Capitol complex and surrounding areas have been locked down after a riot there Jan. 6.

By Bloomberg News

Most ex-presidents spend their time out of office playing golf, getting their libraries in order, making well-paid speeches, writing even more lucrative memoirs and biting their tongues about what the next guy is doing. Other than the golf, the road ahead for Donald Trump, a president who has never adhered to his office’s norms, will be unlike any other.

We know where he will not be when his term ends at noon on Wednesday — he’s the first president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to decline to attend his successor’s inauguration. But there is no clear answer yet on what he plans to do next. Even where he plans to live is potentially up in the air — though Trump says he’s moving to his Mar-a-Lago private club, some of his Palm Beach, Florida, neighbors are challenging his ability to live there full-time.

In the near term and possibly longer, Trump’s post-presidential options will be circumscribed by the fallout over his Jan. 6 speech egging on the crowd that would go on to storm the U.S. Capitol, including a historic second impeachment. If he’s convicted at the upcoming Senate trial, he’ll almost certainly be barred from ever running for federal office again. For now, some of Corporate America’s biggest names are shunning the businessman president, “de-platforming” him on social media and cutting him off from certain professional and financial services. Tens of millions of his fellow citizens will continue to revile him, rendering the Trump brand toxic to half the country and harming prospects for his real estate, hotel and golf resort empire.