Axios

President Trump in his inaugural address on Monday portrayed the classic communications adage that it's not what you say but how you say it.

Why it matters: The speech gives insight into what to expect from Trump 2.0, and while his tone was warmer than in 2017, many of the underlying policy priorities remain the same.

President Trump signed an executive order during his first hours in office to begin the process of pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement — the second time he has done so.

Why it matters: The U.S. is the world's second-largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases and top producer of oil and natural gas.

The Senate voted 99-0 on Monday to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as President Trump's secretary of state.

Why it matters: Rubio will be instrumental in making good on many of Trump's grandest campaign promises — from ending the war in Ukraine to countering China's growing influence to implementing a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The Senate on Monday passed the Laken Riley Act, setting the immigration crackdown bill for a vote in the House later this week.

Why it matters: The legislation could be on President Trump's desk by the end of this week, handing him an early win on a core campaign promise.

Senate committees swiftly approved Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, John Ratcliffe to head the Central Intelligence Agency, Marco Rubio to lead the State Department and others after President Trump was sworn in for a second term.

Why it matters: Rubio is expected to be confirmed with a bipartisan vote Monday night. Democrats cleared the way to expedite his nomination.

Vivek Ramaswamy will leave the Trump administration's new Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, to run for Ohio governor multiple outlets reported on Monday.

Why it matters: Ramaswamy's departure leaves Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been increasingly asserting authority within the GOP, at the helm of the project.

Senate GOP leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is primed to hand President Trump a quick string of wins on his first days in office.

Why it matters: Thune and Trump have a complicated history, but the new majority leader is doing his best to start Congress off on the right foot.

President Trump said little about China in his inauguration address Monday amid growing signs that he's becoming friendlier with the country he's long assailed.

Why it matters: Trump ignited a trade war with China during his first term and pledged to do the same thing again this time.

President-elect Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president Monday — culminating a stunning political comeback and putting the MAGA movement at the heart of power in Washington.

The big picture: Trump and the Republican Party have the wind in their sails with full control of Congress, a MAGA-friendly media ecosystem and big inaugural donations from the most valuable U.S. companies.

Israel expects President Trump to lift the Biden administration's hold on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs in his first days in office, outgoing Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog told Axios.

Why it matters: President Biden's decision to halt the delivery of one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs last May triggered one of the biggest crises the U.S-Israel relationship has faced during the 15-month war in Gaza.

President Biden commuted the life sentence of indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents in a case long disputed by Native American advocates.

Why it matters: Native American and American Indian Movement (AIM) activists for decades sought a pardon or commuted sentence for Peltier, who has drawn celebrities like Robert Redford, Kris Kristofferson and the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his cause.

Inauguration Day is here, and televisions and computer screens across the nation will be tuned into President-elect Trump's speech.

Why it matters: Because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday more people have the day off, which may increase viewership.

Global leaders, current and former U.S. lawmakers, and heads of major U.S. companies descended on Washington, DC, for President Trump's inaugural events over the long weekend.

Why it matters: Trump takes office with Republican control of Congress, support from business and foreign leaders and what's seen as more cultural acceptance of the MAGA movement.

President Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president Monday and gave an inaugural address nearly double the length of his 2017 speech.

Why it matters: His speech touched on many topics including immigration, the economy and cultural policy priorities.

President Trump's Monday inaugural address was about double the length of his 2017 speech, touching on immigration, economy and cultural policy priorities.

Why it matters: Although Trump's first inaugural address was the shortest in modern history, it was memorable for the graphic and violent imagery he used about the country.

Think of the U.S. government as a once-dominant, lean, high-flying company that grew too big, too bloated, too bureaucratic, too unimaginative.

• It's Kodak or Circuit City — a dominant player caught napping amid an obvious technological transformation.

The newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will operate within the U.S. government, according to a fact sheet connected with an executive order expected Monday to establish the new entity, Semafor reported.

Why it matters: It was not known at this point how the new department, co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, would be structured to pursue its mission of cutting government spending.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday said that private companies can make their own decisions about whether to sell or merge, reversing its previous statement that it opposes any effort by ByteDance to sell TikTok U.S. to a foreign owner.

Why it matters: While a few interested buyers have emerged, China's unwillingness to let ByteDance sell TikTok's U.S. arm has tied the company's hands in the face of a U.S. law that required such a sale to avoid a ban.

President-elect Trump has made a litany of ambitious pledges that would gut his predecessor's legacy as soon as Day 1 in office — and he could use his newly regained executive power to take immediate action.

Why it matters: Climate initiatives, LGBTQ+ protections and student loan forgiveness are among President Biden's biggest policy achievements that are at risk once Trump retakes the Oval Office.

The biggest news in the entire world Monday is the second inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president, and crypto traders are selling that news, as they are wont to do.

Why it matters: The Trumps shocked the markets and news junkies this weekend by launching two meme coins, TRUMP and MELANIA, which together had fully diluted market caps in the tens of billions almost immediately.

The daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr. warned Monday of "sinister forces" and "some disturbing things to come" just hours before President-elect Trump retook office.

Why it matters: The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change commemorated MLK Day on Monday as Trump is expected to sign a slew of executive orders ending diversity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government and laying the groundwork for mass deportations.

President Trump hailed his return to office as the start of a "thrilling new era" that would bolster values such as democracy and freedom.

Why it matters: While Trump's overtures reflected his intent to strike a warmer tone than in 2017 — when his inauguration speech decried "American carnage" — much of the content of his inaugural address retained the dark message of his first address.

President Trump was sworn into office Monday, and the three day-long inauguration festivities in D.C. were filled with parties, protests and lots of Cybertrucks.

Here are some photos:

President Biden on Monday added to his record for the most pardons and sentence commutations in a single presidential term when he issued preemptive pardons to protect his family and others before leaving office.

Why it matters: Public attitude on criminal justice and prosecutions for non-violent crimes has shifted dramatically in recent decades. While much of Biden's legacy is set to be eroded by President-elect Trump, his use of presidential clemency power could be remembered.

President Biden preemptively pardoned five family members on Monday, minutes before turning the office of the presidency over to Donald Trump.

Why it matters: Biden said the pardons protect his family against political attacks motivated "solely by a desire to hurt me."

President Biden issued historic preemptive pardons for former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, members of the House Jan. 6 committee and others on Monday, granting them broad immunity before President-elect Trump's White House return, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: He issued the blanket pardons after President-elect Trump repeatedly threatened to investigate or jail his political enemies.

President Biden left the White House for the last time as commander-in-chief Monday morning alongside his successor (and predecessor), President-elect Trump.

Why it matters: The historic moment likely marks the end of Biden's storied political career.

President-elect Trump is expected to launch his second term with a slew of executive orders as soon as Day 1 in office.

The big picture: Trump, with more support from Republicans and voters than in his first term, has expressed every intention of using executive power to address the border and immigration.

Shortly after being sworn in at high noon today, President-elect Trump plans to revoke security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter in 2020 saying emails from Hunter Biden's laptop carried "classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.

• We're told Day 1 will bring about 200 executive actions of various sorts, including executive orders.
• Day 1 actions are expected to include declaring an emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, Jan. 6 pardons, a TikTok reprieve, and executive orders to increase fossil fuel development and reduce civil service protections for federal workers.

President-elect Trump's opening flurry of executive orders will declare a "national energy emergency" to juice higher production and lower consumer costs, an incoming administration official tells Axios.

• The wave of moves on day 1 or shortly after is also expected to include an executive order to "unleash Alaska's natural resource potential." The order will support liquefied natural gas exports from the 49th state, with an eye toward helping Asia-Pacific allies.

What's the best way to operate a multibillion-dollar technology company in a country where one man holds substantially all political power? One answer can be found with ByteDance, which has been operating under exactly that kind of regime for its entire existence.

Why it matters: ByteDance's American subsidiary, TikTok US, has been transparent in its attempts to give Donald Trump — and not his predecessor — the biggest political win possible.

Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day collide Monday in a rare occurrence.

The big picture: Stock markets, banks, many schools and the U.S. Postal Service are closed for the federal holiday, but not because it's the day President-elect Trump is sworn in as the 47th president.

Donald Trump's second presidency is already off to a blazing start — partly from how aggressively he's seized power, but also because his rival, President Biden, has given Trump a head start on realizing some of his big campaign promises.

Why it matters: The most consequential pre-presidency in recent U.S. history has left Trump uniquely positioned to quickly impose his plans to boost executive power, reshape foreign policy, deport millions of undocumented immigrants and juice the economy.

Optimism for the year ahead has dropped significantly among people of color, LGBTQ+ Americans and many women as President-elect Trump returns to the White House, a new Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll finds.

Why it matters: The disparities between demographic groups in terms of how they're feeling heading into 2025 reflect the fact that while Trump's return fills some Americans with hope, many others are deeply concerned.

The Gaza ceasefire saw three hostages held by Hamas since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel released on Sunday, along with 90 Palestinian prisoners.

The big picture: In the first hostage-for-prisoner swaps to occur since the ceasefire began Sunday, Israelis Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher and dual British-Israeli national Emily Damar were freed and Israel released a group of prisoners that mostly comprised women and minors.

China's Vice President Han Zheng and Elon Musk met on Sunday ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration, per Chinese state media.

Why it matters: Chinese leader Xi Jinping deployed his top envoy to attend Trump's inauguration on Monday in an unprecedented move following Trump's threats to impose major tariffs on China.

President-elect Trump pledged during a pre-inauguration victory rally in Washington, D.C. to act when he begins his second term starting Monday "with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country."

The big picture: Trump claimed at Sunday's rally in Capital One Arena on the eve of his inauguration that "before even taking office, you are already seeing results that nobody expected to see."