President-elect Trump is scheduled to be sworn in at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, cementing his spectacular return to the White House and ending a busy 100-day rush focused on several high-profile issues. expected to begin.
The swearing-in ceremony, which was moved inside the Capitol Rotunda due to freezing temperatures, is scheduled to take place just before noon for President Trump and Vice President-elect Vance, after which Trump is scheduled to give a speech.
Officially sworn in as the 47th president, Trump has launched a series of executive actions focused on the border, immigration, energy and federal workers, addressing an impending ban on the popular app TikTok and setting things in motion. Being watched.
The Senate is expected to move forward with confirmation of a number of Trump administration Cabinet nominees later Monday, with some expected to be voted on in committee and at least one expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.
Also this week, both chambers are scheduled to conclude consideration of the Laken-Reilly Act, and the House is scheduled to begin consideration of the abortion bill.
inauguration ceremony
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance will take the oath of office just before noon Monday, officially inaugurating the second Trump administration and set to begin a series of rapid policy actions.
President Trump is expected to sign several executive actions immediately after taking the oath of office on Monday, including declaring a state of emergency at the border, classifying drug cartels and foreign terrorist organizations, and reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, officials told the Hill. told the paper. Stephen Miller, the incoming White House deputy chief of staff for policy, briefed Republican lawmakers. He is also expected to touch on issues related to federal employees and energy.
Separate from these executive actions, the president-elect also said he intends to move quickly to issue an executive order to block the U.S. ban on TikTok, which temporarily went into effect over the weekend.
The popular app signed a bill forcing TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance to withdraw from the platform late Saturday night, with the hope that the ban will take effect late Sunday. It turned dark. us
But on Sunday morning, President Trump wrote: society of truthHe said he would issue an executive order on Monday extending the period until the ban went into effect, and TikTok said it had enough information it needed to restore service in the United States.
“To bring TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allow over 7 million small businesses to thrive, please provide service providers with the clarity and assurance they need that there will be no penalties.'' Thank you President Trump for your support,” TikTok wrote. statement.
However, there are some questions about that logic. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote: statementPresident Trump and TikTok's statement comes after they said, “Now that the law is in effect, there is no legal basis for any kind of 'extension' of the effective date,” and that ByteDance would need to sell the platform to get back online. He claimed that there was.
In response to Trump and TikTok's comments, Cotton said: I wrote to X: “Companies hosting, distributing, servicing, or otherwise promoting the communist-controlled TikTok are subject to hundreds of billions of dollars in damages under the Justice Department as well as securities laws, shareholder lawsuits, state legislatures, and other laws.” Think about it, you could face liability.
Senate to approve first Cabinet nominees
President Trump's first days back in the White House will be filled with a flurry of Senate confirmation hearings and votes as the Republican-controlled Senate tries to quickly solidify the president-elect's Cabinet.
The move is expected to take place as early as Monday, the same day as the inauguration. That could happen, as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to bring forward the nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as secretary of state at 4:30 p.m. Come to the full Senate that day and vote. Rubio is seen as the most likely candidate to be approved first as a Cabinet nominee.
“He came to my office before the hearing,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said of Mr. Rubio on CBS' “Face the Nation,” saying he did very well in the hearing. “Now that we have it in place, we are likely to take action from day one, and I think we will get strong bipartisan votes.” ” on sunday.
On Monday at 5:30 p.m., the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees will approve South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's (R) nomination to be Secretary of Homeland Security and Russell Voight to be Director of the Administration. A vote will be taken on the nomination. And the budget.
Additionally, the committee is scheduled to vote on Monday to advance Pete Hegseth's candidacy for Secretary of Defense and John Ratcliffe's candidacy to head the CIA. Ratcliffe's nomination could be taken up by the full Senate the same day.
Later this week, the committee will appoint Sean Duffy as Secretary of Transportation, former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-New York) as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. There will be a vote on the nomination. Become an administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Several other candidates are also scheduled to have confirmation hearings, including Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), who will serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Congress to end consideration of Laken Riley Act
Congress is scheduled to finish considering the Laken-Reilly Act this week, making it likely that President Trump will score an early legislative victory in his first week in office.
After advancing the bill on Friday, the Senate is expected to take a final vote on the bill early this week. The bill, named after a murdered Georgia student, would require the detention of immigrants arrested on suspicion of theft.
The bill is expected to pass the Senate with bipartisan support after numerous procedural votes with support from members on both sides of the aisle. On Friday, senators voted 61-35 to end consideration of the bill, which included support from 10 Democrats. Another Democrat, the bill's co-sponsor, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), missed the vote.
If the Senate approves the bill, it would need to return to the House for final approval before heading to President Trump's desk, as the Senate amended the bill. Last week, senators adopted an amendment proposed by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to add an assault provision against law enforcement officers.
The House approved an earlier version of the bill earlier this month in a bipartisan vote of 264-159, with all Republicans and 48 Democrats joining in support.
If the bill passes both chambers this week, it would be a major victory for Republicans and Trump, giving them an early legislative victory on the border issue, which is expected to be a top campaign priority. It will be. Over the next two years.
Passage of the bill could also be divisive within the Democratic Party, giving Republicans another boost as they seek to emphasize their advantage on hot-button issues.
House Republicans begin voting on abortion bill
House Republicans will turn their attention to abortion this week, with a vote on the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would require infants born alive after an attempted abortion to receive the same care as other children born prematurely. We plan to do so. receive.
of invoiceIt's familiar to House Republicans. The chamber approved the bill on a mostly party-line vote of 220-210-1 in January 2023, at the beginning of the 118th Congress. Among Democrats, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was the only one to vote “yes,” and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) voted “yes.”
Having a baby born after an attempted abortion is a very rare event. Minnesota, one of the few states that tracks such cases, reported three cases in 2017 where infants were born after attempted abortions, according to a report from the state Department of Health. The infants did not survive in all three cases.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) touted the bill in a recent election as “common sense.” exterior on Salem News Channel.
Johnson said: “For those of you who are on the abortion issue, just to be clear: Children born alive, even the victims of botched abortions, receive no more protection than any other child.'' and should receive treatment.” “And the idea that legislators would not consider the sanctity of that human life in the same way as any other life is completely unconscionable to us. So this should be easy to achieve, and the legislative field As we say, it should be very simple.
In addition to borders, women's reproductive rights also played a key role in the campaign, with Democrats leaning into the issue following the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Contributed by Brett Samuels.
