Presidential inaugurations mark some of the most defining moments in U.S. history, allowing presidents to establish traditions and reinvigorate the American people.
Some inaugurations make history, while others are remembered for comical blunders and even brawls.
Before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office for a second time on Monday, here are some of the most momentous Inauguration Day moments in U.S. history.
No tradition's story is complete without its origin. President George Washington delivered the first-ever inaugural address on April 30, 1789, just two weeks after Congress unanimously elected him to serve as the nation's leader.
His 10-minute speech noted the "divine blessing" of the nation's founding, expressing gratitude to "the benign parent of the human race" for the deliberations that led to the founding and the unity of the American people.
President Andrew Jackson had some 20,000 of his supporters attend a celebration around the White House following his first inauguration in 1829.
The mob quickly grew rowdy, however, with fights breaking out and furniture being destroyed. Jackson ultimately fled out a window to the safety of a nearby hotel, according to the National Archives.
Staff at the White House then resorted to filling bathtubs with whiskey and orange juice outside the White House in order to get the crowd to leave the building.
President William Henry Harrison delivered his inaugural address on a bitterly cold day in March 1841. He refused to wear a coat and traveled to and from the inauguration on open horseback. His address is also the longest in U.S. history, with Harrison speaking for more than two hours.
Several weeks after Inauguration Day, Harrison caught a cold, which then developed into pneumonia, and he died on April 4, barely a month after taking office.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt first took the oath of office in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression.
It was during his first inaugural address that he delivered a line now known to virtually all Americans, telling the people, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Roosevelt's steadfast leadership would see Americans through both the Great Depression and World War II.
President John F. Kennedy assumed office on Jan. 20, 1961, and he too delivered a line that would enter the American pantheon.
"Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country," he urged.
Kennedy's words led the country to the moon and back, and to this day, polls rank him as the most beloved recent president.
President Barack Obama's first inauguration is notable not only because he was the first Black American to become president, but also for the historical quirk that he had to be sworn in twice.
Obama and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts briefly spoke to one another as Roberts was administering the oath of office. As a result, Roberts misspoke and stated, "That I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully."
Obama then repeated that phrasing, which is incorrect. The oath's correct wording in the Constitution is, "That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States."
While the ceremony moved forward regardless, Obama and Roberts met again the following day at the White House to administer the oath correctly.
President Biden's half-century political career comes to a close on Monday, as President-elect Trump is inaugurated and succeeds Biden in the White House.
While the longtime Democratic senator from Delaware, two-term vice president and one-term president can point to a plethora of legislative victories and other achievements during his four years in the White House, Biden leaves office as one of the most unpopular presidents in the nation's history.
And Biden, who successfully defeated Trump in the 2020 election as he pledged to turn a page on his predecessor, is facing a legacy tarnished by his inability to prevent Trump from returning to the presidency.
Biden, in an open letter to the American people on Wednesday, appeared to acknowledge that he wasn't able to follow through on the integral pledge from his 2020 campaign.
"I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake," Biden wrote.
But he lamented "that’s still the case."
"President Biden ran on and was elected on a platform of a return to normalcy in 2020. And while voters appear to have wanted that in principle, history will remember Biden as having been unable to deliver on his promise," veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, the president of New England College, told Fox News.
Biden, in a farewell address to the nation this past week, aimed to cement his legacy as a president who pushed to stabilize politics at home while bolstering America's leadership abroad, and as a leader who steered the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic, made historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy, pumped up the economy and made historic gains in job creation, and lowered prescription drug prices for millions of American.
But he also used his speech "to warn the country" that "an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy. Our basic rights, freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead."
Biden ends his single term in the White House with approval ratings that remain well underwater.
He stood at 42% approval and 57% disapproval in the latest Fox News national poll, which was conducted Jan. 10-13 and released on Thursday.
Just 36% of Americans approved of the job Biden has been doing in the White House, according to the latest CNN poll, which matched the president's previous low mark in the cable news network's polling during Biden's White House tenure.
And Biden's approval rating stood at 43% – slightly higher but still in negative territory – in national polls by USA Today/Suffolk University and Marist College.All of the polls were conducted in early and mid-January.
Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. However, the president’s numbers started sagging in August 2021 in the wake of Biden's much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and following a surge in COVID-19 cases that summer that was mainly among unvaccinated people.
The plunge in the president’s approval rating was also fueled by soaring inflation – which started spiking in the summer of 2021 and remains to date a major pocketbook concern with Americans – and the surge of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. along the southern border.
Biden's approval ratings slipped underwater in the autumn of 2021 and never reemerged into positive territory.
The latest polls also indicate that many Americans view Biden's presidency as a failure.
Sixty-one percent of adults nationwide questioned in the CNN survey said they see Biden’s presidency overall as a failure, with 38% viewing it as a success.
According to the USA Today/Suffolk University survey, 44% of registered voters said history will assess Biden as a failed president, with 27% saying he will be judged as a fair president. Twenty-one percent of those questioned said history will view Biden as a good president, with only 5% saying he will be seen as a great president.
Just over a third of adults nationwide questioned in the Marist poll said Biden will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in American history, with 19% saying he will be considered a below-average president.
Twenty-eight percent of participants offered that Biden's legacy will be considered average, with 19% saying he would be regarded as above average or one of the best presidents in the nation's history.
Biden, in one of his last interviews in office, told MSNBC in an acknowledgment of regret that "ironically, I almost spent too much time on the policy, not enough time on the politics."
Also weighing on Biden's legacy - his ill-fated re-election run.
In April 2023, the then-80-year old Biden announced his re-election bid. Fourteen months later, Biden was losing ground to Trump in 2024 election polling when he suffered a disastrous debate performance against the former president, which reignited deep concerns among voters over his physical and cognitive ability to handle another four years in the White House.
Less than a month later, following an outcry from fellow Democrats, Biden announced he was ending his campaign and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as the party's 2024 standard-bearer.
Two and a half months after Trump's convincing victory over Harris, Biden is still facing plenty of blame for the Democrats' electoral setbacks in November.
Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville told Fox News that "the Joe Biden story is one of the great tragedies of American politics. I really mean that. He should be having a glorious, well deserved, highly acclaimed retirement. And he’s not."
And Carville, a political mastermind behind former President Bill Clinton's historic 1992 White House victory, argued that "it’s hard to blame anybody but him."
But Biden’s friends and supporters feel that the negative views of the soon-to-be former president will shift over time.
"Biden, because of some of the legislation that he was able to muscle through, is going to look pretty good," John MacNeil, a longtime Democratic consultant, Biden supporter, told Fox News. "The fruits of some of what Biden accomplished are only going to become visible over the next few years."
But MacNeil, a founding director of Unite the Country, the super PAC that boosted the then-former vice president through the 2020 Democratic primaries, also acknowledged that Biden may be "seen as just a hiccup between Trump one and Trump two. That is something that historians will talk about."
President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration is just two days away, and excitement for the celebrations is building throughout Washington, D.C., and across the nation.
Celebrities and top business leaders are rallying around the incoming 47th president of the United States – a stark contrast to the inaugural ceremonies in 2017.
Trump, in November, won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide. He dominated both the Electoral College and the popular vote to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris after a historic campaign cycle.
Since his massive victory, the president-elect has seen support from his traditional allies – including Republicans in Congress and GOP governors across the nation – as he builds out his incoming administration.
However, he has also been embraced by top executives in the business world and Silicon Valley – individuals who had not been particularly cozy with Trump or his allies during and after his first administration.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and other tech leaders paid visits to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, throughout the transition period.
Leading up to the inauguration, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and executives from Google, Microsoft, Boeing, Ford Motor Co. and more, committed at least $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund – a total about-face from the first Trump inauguration.
Trump will also have union leaders at his inauguration, representing the broad coalition of support he has seen since his victory, including International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O'Brien and members of the Firefighter's Union.
Celebrities, too, are showing up for the president-elect. Country music star and "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood will perform "America the Beautiful," and will be joined by the Armed Forces Choir and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club.
Underwood’s performance will come just before Trump takes the presidential oath of office for the second time.
Joining Underwood during the swearing-in ceremony will be opera singer Christopher Macchio, who is expected to perform the national anthem.
Reports suggest other top music acts will make their way to Washington, D.C., for performances, including Jason Aldean, Rascall Flatts, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Village People and more.
Last time, Trump struggled to attract big-name support, and even high-profile entertainers for his inauguration in 2017. The entertainment program was tame compared to his predecessor, President Obama’s 2013 inauguration, which included performances by Beyoncé and Kelly Clarkson.
Additionally, the 2017 inauguration weekend was also marred by protests across Washington, D.C.
Protesters created chaos across the city ahead of Inauguration Day in 2017, shattering glass storefronts and torching cars, with police arresting more than 200 people in demonstrations that spanned several days.
Trump’s actual swearing-in on Capitol Hill and the parade to the White House happened, however, without any incident.
Despite the chaos, Trump, in his inaugural address, called for a "new national pride" to heal divisions and asked for unity.
However, the day after Trump was sworn into office as the 45th president of the United States, several hundred thousand people from across the country descended on the nation’s capital to protest his presidency in the "Women’s March on Washington."
Many of the protesters were indeed women and were largely peaceful compared to the rioters who wreaked havoc in Washington, D.C., days earlier. The march moved from the National Mall to the streets while the newly inaugurated president attended a National Prayer Service after waking up in the White House for the first time.
Celebrities like America Ferrera, Madonna, Ashley Judd, Cher, Katy Perry, Amy Schumer, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Michael Moore, Debra Messing, Patricia Arquette and others attended the march.
Madonna, during that protest, said she had "thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House."
However, Trump’s second inauguration is expected to be a celebration – the official Inauguration weekend will begin with a large fireworks display Saturday night.
On Sunday, there will be a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and a "Make America Great Again" rally, where Trump will deliver remarks, followed by a candlelit dinner.
Monday is Inauguration Day, when Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will participate in the swearing-in ceremony; say "farewell" to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris; participate in the president’s Signing Room Ceremony on Capitol Hill; and lead the Presidential Parade down Pennsylvania Avenue and to the White House.
The president will then attend three official inaugural balls and is expected to deliver remarks at each.
"President Trump is dedicated to uniting the country through the strength, security, and opportunity of his America First agenda," Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, Inc. Co-Chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler said. "The 2025 inaugural celebrations will reflect President-elect Trump’s historic return to the White House and the American people’s decisive vote to Make America Great Again."
The incoming Trump administration is eyeing immigration arrests of illegal immigrants across the country as soon as day one, as top officials say they are ready to "take the handcuffs off" Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration is planning a large-scale raid in Chicago on Tuesday, targeting those with criminal backgrounds in particular.
Incoming border czar Tom Homan was asked by Fox News’ Jesse Watters about the media reports of a "big raid" on Tuesday in Chicago, but Homan said ICE will be working across the country.
"There’s going to be a big raid across the country. Chicago is just one of many places. We’ve got 24 field offices across the country. On Tuesday, ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens, that’s what’s going to happen," he said.
"What we’re telling ICE, you’re going to enforce the immigration law without apology. You’re going to concentrate on the worst first, public safety threats first, but no one is off the table. If they’re in the country illegally, they got a problem," he said.
The administration has promised a mass deportation operation, as well as increased border security. Officials have said they intend to target those with criminal histories and convictions, but have also stressed that they will potentially arrest anyone in the U.S. illegally. There are currently more than 7 million individuals on ICE's non-detained docket.
"The administration has been clear that we're going to start arresting people on day one, and Chicago's probably not going to be the only place that arrests are going to be made," a source familiar told Fox News Digital.
The administration is expected to see significant pushback from "sanctuary" cities that refuse to allow state and local law enforcement to honor ICE detainers – requests that ICE be notified when illegal immigrants in custody are being released.
Some Democratic officials in Chicago, as well as Massachusetts and Arizona have said they will not co-operate with the administration.
But New York City Mayor Eric Adams has met with Homan about how they can work together on removing illegal immigrants who have been convicted of violent crimes.
DHS nominee Kristi Noem testified to Congress on Friday, and threw her support behind the mass deportation operation and increasing border security. She also said the administration will immediately end the use of the CBP One app, which currently allows migrants to be paroled into the U.S.
Pete Hegseth has picked up another key vote for confirmation as President-elect Trump's secretary of defense.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Friday said he will vote to confirm Hegseth, an Army combat veteran whose nomination was under question because of his remarks questioning women's roles in the military, sexual misconduct allegations, as well as allegations that he drank alcohol while working previous jobs.
"The President’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Mr. Hegseth, has impressive academic qualifications, conducted himself very well in the Senate Armed Services hearing, and has a commendable record of service in uniform. He assured me he will surround himself with a strong support team," Cassidy said in a statement."I will vote for his confirmation."
Hegseth has seen a wave of support from Republicans, including Sen. Joni Ernst, of Iowa, who previously expressed concerns about his nomination.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said Hegseth passed his confirmation hearing with "flying colors."
"They tried to rattle him. They brought out all these anonymous allegations. He had an answer for every one of them," Tuberville said at the time.
During his proceedings, protesters were hauled out in zip ties after interrupting the hearing.
Democratic lawmakers also grilled Hegseth about his stance on women in combat roles, prompting him to push back that his argument related to women serving in the military focuses on military standards not eroding.
"I would point out I've never disparaged women serving in the military," he told Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. "I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform, past and present. My critiques, senator, recently and in the past, and from personal experience, have been instances where I've seen standards lowered."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and President-elect Trump met in Palm Beach, Florida, Friday, three days before Trump's return to the White House.
"President Trump and I had a productive conversation about New York’s needs and what’s best for our city and how the federal government can play a more helpful role in improving the lives of New Yorkers," Adams said in a statement shared by his spokesperson, Fabien Levy.
"While we briefly touched on a number of issues, we specifically focused on the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas and how it will have a positive impact on public safety in our country; how we can bring manufacturing jobs back to New York, particularly in the Bronx; and how we can continue to make federal investments in New York City, especially when it comes to infrastructure."
The Democratic mayor, who is awaiting trial on federal corruption charges in April, said the pair didn’t discuss his legal issues in the meeting.
As president, Trump would have the power to pardon Adams.
Adams faces charges he accepted luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals in exchange for corrupt acts.
Trump, who was convicted in a New York court last year for falsifying business records, has defended Adams in the past, claiming the charges against the mayor may have been brought because he criticized President Biden over the border.
"To be clear, we did not discuss my legal case, and those who suggest the mayor of the largest city in the nation shouldn’t meet with the incoming president to discuss our cities' priorities because of inaccurate speculation or because we’re from different parties clearly care more about politics than people," Adams said.
"Like I’ve always done, I will take every opportunity possible to advocate for New Yorkers and our city. And, after our discussion, I strongly believe there is much our city and the federal government can partner on to make New York City safer, stronger and more affordable. I thank President Trump for his time and attention and look forward to working with him to benefit all New Yorkers."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Trump for comment.
Adams had been criticized by other New York politicians for the meeting.
"The Trump agenda is not going to help move our city or the country forward. This pilgrimage is clearly about something else," state Sen. Zellnor Myrie wrote on X this week.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wrote on X that "Eric Adams should state immediately that he will not seek or accept a pardon from Donald Trump. New Yorkers deserve to know that their Mayor is putting their interests ahead of his own — and whether our tax dollars, or Turkish Airlines, will be financing his trip to Florida."
"Who is this meeting for, New Yorkers or Eric Adams? Our city has too many problems right now for us to worry about if he's fighting for New Yorkers or a hypothetical pardon for himself," Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller, posted on X.
A former fighter pilot will serve as the next United States Undersecretary of the Air Force, President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday night.
Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, a former U.S. Space Force commander, appeared on Fox News to discuss military readiness in July, after claiming he was fired for criticizing the "Marxist" DEI complex.
Lohmeier, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, was in the military for more than a decade before joining the Space Force in 2020, where he specialized in missile warning systems.
He was fired less than a year later, after appearing on The Steve Gruber Show, and lost his pension.
Trump commended Lohmeier in the nomination announcement, writing Lohmeier "devoted his life to serving our Great Nation."
"Matthew will work with the GREAT Secretary of Defense Nominee, Pete Hegseth, to end the devastating "woke" policies that have destroyed our Military, and make our Country STRONG AGAIN," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Congratulations Matthew!"
Fox News Digital's Hannah Grossman and Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this story.
President Biden's final list of commutations was released Friday afternoon, laying out the names and registration numbers of nearly 2,500 inmates whose sentences were reduced by the president's action.
This latest round of commutations cements Biden's spot as the president with the largest number of pardons and commutations granted to individuals. The people on the list, according to a statement from President Biden, were determined to have received disproportionately harsh sentences for drug crimes, compared to sentences they would have received today.
"Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes," Biden said in a statement Friday. "As Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities."
The new list of commutations comes after Biden already set a record for the largest single-day act of presidential clemency last month, when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals who were placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and were largely accused of committing non-violent drug offenses, according to the White House.
Following last month's commutations, several Democrats urged Biden to issue even more pardons and commutations for people serving long sentences. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who was among those pressing Biden to take action, applauded the president Friday for his action.
"Today, President Biden is taking another historic, transformative, and compassionate step toward healing and reuniting families by commuting the sentences of thousands of individuals serving unjustified lengthy sentences—a direct result of the failed policies of the War on Drugs," Rep. Pressley said.
"With this action, President Biden … is demonstrating the power of clemency to address the injustices of our criminal legal system. I thank President Biden for acting boldly and continuing to use clemency to change and save lives. This is what we’ve been calling for and this is the type of leadership the moment demands. This will be a defining part of President Biden’s legacy."
FIRST ON FOX: Ohio's new Senator-designate, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, wants to get the country "to a more fiscally responsible path" and is bringing his years of state government experience to the upper chamber.
"Look, as a fiscal conservative, I always want to move America on to a more fiscally responsible path, and I want to get government out of people's lives," he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive first interview after being appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, to be the next senator.
Husted will take over Vice President-elect JD Vance's vacated Senate seat and run in a special election in 2026 to determine who will serve the remainder of his term.
"If you want to cut taxes, you got to cut spending. And that's what I'm accustomed to. And that's the attitude I'll take into the process of being a U.S. senator."
He acknowledged that America's debt and spending problem can't be remedied with a "magic wand," but added, "you got to start somewhere."
Husted's appointment comes as the Trump transition team is currently pressing forward with key nominees for his Cabinet. Many of them have been meeting with senators for months ahead of their confirmation hearings and committee votes.
Asked about coming in right in the middle of this process, he told Fox News Digital, "I think it's a good list of nominees."
"Remember, you know, I'm taking Vance's seat. I'm an ally of the Trump administration, and I'm going to help support those nominees and get them confirmed as quickly as we can," the senator-designate emphasized.
The first confirmation votes for Trump nominees are expected to take place on Monday evening following the inauguration.
It's unclear who will run against Husted in the 2026 special election, but the seat is expected to be one of the Democrats' top targets after losing former Sen. Sherrod Brown's seat in November.
Brown has been speculated as a candidate for Vance's seat, and he previously dismissed questions from Fox News Digital about whether he'd launch a campaign for it.
Following the news of Husted's appointment on Friday, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement, "The start of the 2026 cycle has quickly been defined by new weak spots emerging in Senate Republicans’ already challenging map. Ohio’s special election adds another seat and another controversial candidate the GOP will have to protect - and it means Senate Republicans are starting the cycle having to play even more defense."
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., drilled into a migrant rights activist in a heated moment during a Senate hearing on the "Remain in Mexico" policy on Thursday for what he said amounted to downplaying the murder of Laken Riley and for saying migrant crime is "not an actual issue."
"In March of 2024, you wrote: ‘The murder of a nursing student in Georgia has a lot of people on the right talking about migrant crime like it's an actual issue,’" said Hawley.
Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University who was found dead on the University of Georgia's campus in February. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant, was found guilty of 10 total counts, including felony murder. He initially pleaded not guilty but was ultimately sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in November.
"Here's Laken Riley," said Hawley as her picture was posted behind him. "Her murder, her horrific murder at the hands of this illegal migrant who was also unlawfully paroled in the United States. [Is] her death not an actual issue?"
The activist, Adam Isacson, who works as director of defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, responded by saying: "Of course it’s an issue, it’s a tragedy."
"I didn’t say that Laken Riley’s death was not an actual issue, I said that migrant crime is not an actual issue," said Isacson. "Migrant crime is much less of an issue than U.S. citizen-committed crime."
To which Hawley answered, "[Riley] is dead because of migrant crime."
"I happen to think that their violent murders are actual issues," he said. "And the fact that you would say otherwise, sit here and advise the Senate that the Laken Riley Act is a bad idea, that the whole thing is not an actual issue, it’s all just, what, made up? I think [it] is outrageous. I think it's absolutely outrageous."
Isacson, who said he was invited to testify in the hearing by a Democratic member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said that the bipartisan Laken Riley Act, which has already passed in the House and would require ICE to arrest and detain illegal immigrants that have committed a crime, "could do a lot of harm" and "would allow me to say: ‘oh, this person shoplifted.’ And that would be enough probable cause to get somebody deported."
Hawley shot back: "I want the record to be clear on this, that migrant crime is a real issue."
"I think the Laken Riley Act is absolutely necessary," he said. "In fact, I propose an amendment to the Laken Riley Act that will cover people like Travis Wolfe. I think that ICE ought to be detaining, ought to be required to detain, those illegal migrants who commit violent crimes against children like Travis Wolfe."
Speaking to Fox News Digital after the hearing, another one of the experts testifying, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and law and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, said that Hawley was "voicing the frustration that very many Americans feel about migrant crime in the United States."
"We've seen many not only high profile but shocking crimes that have been carried out in the United States by migrants who were stopped at the border and then released into the United States," he said. "It's called the Department of Homeland Security for a reason; the purpose of this department is to ensure that citizens of the United States and aliens who are lawfully here are protected from criminal predation. Unfortunately, on this at the border, the Biden-Harris administration dropped the ball."
"Individuals who are criminals, who by law should not be allowed into the United States at all, were actually released into this country and now they are free to prey on both migrant and citizen communities in this country," Arthur added. "So, job one for Tom Homan — Donald Trump's border czar — and the president himself is going to be rounding up, detaining and removing all the criminal aliens, all the individuals who are preying upon both migrant and citizen communities in this country."
Despite the theatrics, Arthur said it was a "good hearing" because there was "a lot of bipartisan agreement on the need to secure the border."
"Customs and Border Protection referred to Remain in Mexico as indispensable for border security the first time that it was used under the Trump administration," he said. "I think that when you look at the amount of money that has flowed into the cartels' pockets over the last four years, you know, as we've seen, 8 million, 10 million people come unlawfully into the United States and you contrast that to the number of people who were sent back to Mexico, I think that the balance is definitely in favor of enforcing the border and potentially re-implementing Remain in Mexico.
"As long as the migrants continue to come to the United States in large numbers, the cartels are going to get rich, they're just going to expand their capabilities and they're just going to ship more drugs into the United States."
- Trump DHS pick Noem pledges to end controversial app used by migrants on 'day one’
- FBI agent who said New Orleans attack was 'not a terrorist event' has been reassigned
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal law that would ban the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok just two days before the bipartisan divestiture law is slated to take effect.
"There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community," the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. "But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.
"For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed."…Read more
READ IT AND WEEP: Biden's official X account draws mockery with reference to constitutional amendment that doesn't exist…Read more
MORE TO COME?: Harris says she won’t go ‘quietly into the night’: ‘Our work is not done’…Read more
BIDEN HIS TIME: Biden maintains he will not enforce TikTok ban, plans to punt to Trump administration…Read more
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Obama wishes wife Michelle happy birthday as she stays away from key public events…Read more
FRIGID TEMPS: Trump inaugural moves indoors; last time that happened was Reagan's second in 1985….Read more
TRUMP'S CHAIR: RNC chair Whatley vows to be 'tip of the spear' to protect Trump after coasting to reelection victory…Read more
'STAY TUNED!': Trump needs 'time to review' SCOTUS decision, teases action in 'not too distant future'…Read more
HOMEGROWN BACKING: 400-plus farmers and growers groups urge Senate to confirm Trump USDA pick…Read more
TECH ALLIES: Elon Musk to speak at Trump pre-inauguration rally: report…Read more
BEIJING CALLING: Trump, China's Xi speak on phone ahead of inauguration…Read more
'WHO IS IN CHARGE?': Dem senator quizzes Noem on how she will work with Homan…Read more
FINISH THE JOB: Comer requests Trump DOJ prosecute James Biden for making 'false statements' during impeachment inquiry…Read more
CLEANING HOUSE: Trump won't wait for Senate confirmations to shake up State Department…Read more
SIZE MATTERS: Trump likely to avoid inaugural crowd-size controversy with swearing-in moved indoors…Read more
COUNTERING BELT AND ROAD: New set of bills would challenge CCP initiative: 'We can mute China's siren song'…Read more
REPORTER DRAGGED OUT: Security drags journo out of Blinken's final presser: 'Why aren’t you in The Hague!'…Read more
SLASH SPENDING: DOGE eyeing suggestions to slash federal DEI programs: report…Read more
LAKEN RILEY: Bill in her honor overcomes filibuster in Senate as Dems give GOP helping hand…Read more
VANCE VACANCY: Ohio Gov. DeWine chooses his Lt. Governor to fill JD Vance's vacant seat…Read more
EMOTIONALLY TAXING: House Dems threaten to block Trump's big tariff plans: 'Unacceptable'…Read more
‘TAKE THE GLOVES OFF’: Top border lawmaker pushes to declare bloodthirsty gang a terrorist organization…Read more
DEI DIES: Midwest state’s DEI department nixed in new governor’s first major act…Read more
BAD COMMUTE: City bus comes within inches of disaster on elevated overpass during rush hour…Read more
'DISAPPOINTED': Top NJ watchdog official abruptly resigns, is removed from state voter rolls following residency flap…Read more
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OpenAI has partnered with a new AI initiative led by a group co-founded with outgoing Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry that has pushed left-wing causes and has several board members aligned with Democrats.
OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, is backing an initiative known as AI 2030, which is aimed at shaping "public dialogue about U.S. competition against China on AI," Politico reported in October.
The initiative is led by the "non-partisan" think tank American Security Project (ASP), where Kerry was a founding member and served two stints on the board of directors.
ASP has promoted the idea that climate change is a national security threat, and argued on its website that pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal was a bad idea that "harms national security." The group previously received a $500,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation "for use by its World War Zero initiative, an effort to achieve action and mobilization through awareness and public education to halt the increase of global carbon emissions." The Rockefeller Foundation has dished out tens of millions of dollars to left-wing causes.
Kerry’s former chief of staff David Wade, who gave Hunter Biden rapid response help as the Burisma scandal swirled, currently sits on the board of directors and recently authored an op-ed in The Hill explaining how AI in the U.S. has reached its "Sputnik moment," outlining the need to compete with China on AI.
Former Obama Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who called then-President Trump an "embarrassment" in 2018, also sits on the board of ASP.
Rep, Don Beyer, D-Va., who is also on the board at ASP, has publicly opposed Trump's tariff policies, calling them "idiotic" and "illegal" in a 2023 press release.
In 2018, ASP promoted an op-ed by Board Member Matthew Wallin in which he criticized Trump's diplomatic tactics against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2017, Wallin amplified the debunked media narrative in a post on X, then Twitter, that Trump called White supremacists at the deadly Charlottesville rally "good people."
Chris Lehane, who serves as OpenAI’s Head of Global Policy, is the author of the infamous and controversial "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" memo promoted by then-first lady Hillary Clinton dismissing the Monica Lewinsky scandal as part of a right-wing media conspiracy.
Along with being a longtime Democratic Party consultant, Lehane has recently contributed money to help former Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Altman recently followed other tech titans and made a substantial $1 million gift to Trump’s inauguration in his personal capacity, but has faced scrutiny for previous high-dollar donations to left-wing efforts, including a $250,000 donation to a Democratic super PAC and opposition research firm American Bridge during the 2020 election.
Altman has donated to hundreds of Democrats in recent years compared to just one Republican, Newsweek reported this past summer. He was also recently tapped to be a co-chair for the incoming Democratic mayor of San Francisco’s transition team.
In addition to hosting a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang at his San Francisco home in late 2019, Altman has donated over $1 million to Democrats and Democratic groups, including $600,000 to the Sen. Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC, $100,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and over $150,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He also gave thousands to state Democratic parties and top Democrats in the House and Senate.
In 2014, Altman co-hosted a fundraiser for the DNC at Y Combinator’s offices in Mountain View, California, which was headlined by then-President Obama.
Following Trump's victory in November, Altman posted on X, "congrats to President Trump. i wish for his huge success in the job."
"It is critically important that the US maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values," he added.
During Altman’s tenure from 2014 to 2019 as the CEO of Y Combinator, an incubator startup that launched Airbnb, DoorDash and DropBox, he talked about China in multiple blog posts and interviews. In 2017, Altman said that he "felt more comfortable discussing controversial ideas in Beijing than in San Francisco" and that he felt like an expansion into China was "important" because "some of the most talented entrepreneurs" that he has met have been operating there.
Altman’s résumé and AI efforts have drawn the ire of Trump ally Elon Musk in recent years. Musk said last year, "I don’t trust OpenAI. I don’t trust Sam Altman. And I don’t think we ought to have the most powerful AI in the world controlled by someone who is not trustworthy."
Musk, who has been involved with a highly publicized legal tussle with Altman, has also said that OpenAI's ChatGPT function is infected with the "woke virus."
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot whose core function is to mimic a human in conversation. Users across the world have used ChatGPT to write emails, debug computer programs, answer homework questions, play games, write stories and song lyrics, and much more.
"It is going to eliminate a lot of current jobs, that’s true. We can make much better ones. The reason to develop AI at all, in terms of impact on our lives and improving our lives and upside, this will be the greatest technology humanity has yet developed," Altman said in a 2023 interview with ABC News. "The promise of this technology, one of the ones that I'm most excited about, is the ability to provide individual learning — great individual learning for each student."
In recent months, OpenAI has reportedly been quietly pitching its products to the U.S. military and pursuing defense contracts, Forbes reported.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for OpenAI said, "America has to win the AI race, and that is why Americans from both sides of the aisle are united in supporting policies that help the US maintain its competitive edge against China."
"ASP is a nearly twenty-year-old bipartisan organization that works with legislators, retired flag officers, subject matter experts, and groups from across the political spectrum to produce high quality research and forge bipartisan consensus on emerging threats to our national security," an ASP spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"While OpenAI is one of many donors for AI Imperative 2030, we ensure an equal balance of opinions informed by independent experts and Consensus for American Security members, including Julia Nesheiwat, Ph.D., former Trump Homeland Security Advisor, and Neil Chatterjee, former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under Trump. We also recently hosted a roundtable featuring Nazak Nikakhtar, another former Trump official."
The statement continued, "The primary objective of AI Imperative 2030 is to ensure that the U.S., not China, wins the race for AI supremacy. China aims to surpass the U.S. and lead the world in AI by 2030. We can’t let that happen. President Trump has been a leader in creating bipartisan consensus that the U.S. needs to compete more vigorously with China, and we look forward to working with his administration and the Republican Congress to design effective and cost-efficient policies towards this goal."
Fox News Digital's Nikolas Lanum, Cameron Cawthorne and Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens is stepping down from his role as head of the agency – telling Fox News that his agents have given 100% in difficult conditions, including some of the worst conditions he’s seen in his entire career.
Owens, who was promoted to Border Patrol Chief in 2023, is retiring in April. Texas Border Czar Mike Banks will be tapped to be the next chief.
Owens spoke to Fox News about his time as chief during some of the most intense moments of the crisis at the southern border. He said it was "bittersweet" because it is the end of a chapter in his life.
"But at the same time, it's a happy one because I feel like I made my difference, and it's time to hand it off to the next generation."
Fox asked him about the surge in border crossings his men and women dealt with – including the surge in 2021 in Del Rio and overwhelming numbers at Eagle Pass, Texas.
"I hadn't seen anything like that. And it's that was as bad as I had seen it in my entire career. And at every moment, the men and women are trying to find a way to take care of that so that they could get back out there on patrol and keep the bad actors from coming in," he said.
He described how Border Patrol agents would go from performing CPR on babies to going after a gang member or convicted felon.
"That takes a toll on anybody. And what I saw was those men and women deal with that not just once in a while, but daily and every single day. No matter how frustrated they got, they get up the next morning, they put that uniform on and they went out there and they give 100%. I owed them 100% as well," he said.
As for Banks, Owens said he considers him a friend and said that he is "confident and optimistic about our future with him at the helm."
"He loves the Border Patrol just like I do. And he's going to keep his focus on the mission of keeping this country safe from harm," he said.
Owens also said he has "never seen a situation where I would say the border is secure."
"Because for me, a secure border means if something bad tries to come into this country, I'm going to be able to detect it and stop it. There's too many gaps and vulnerabilities today that still exist on our border," he said.
Outgoing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised Owens in a statement, saying he "embodies the ethos of the United States Border Patrol – ‘Honor First.’
"Chief Owens has dedicated his life to public service. Throughout his career in the Border Patrol – from his first assignment at Calexico Station to his command of the elite BORTAC unit in El Paso, from his leadership of the USBP Academy to the Laredo Sector, Del Rio Sector, Washington, D.C., and many duty stations in-between – he has always stepped up and stepped in whenever the challenges have been greatest, and wherever his talents have been most needed. He rose through the ranks of the Border Patrol by virtue of his extraordinary leadership and his bravery, integrity, and decency," he said.
"It is these qualities that made Chief Owens the best and right person to lead the Border Patrol during an intensely difficult time. I am grateful that he accepted the challenge, just as he has accepted so many others throughout his distinguished law enforcement career. The Border Patrol, and the Department of Homeland Security, are stronger today because of Chief Owens," he said.
The announcement comes days before President-elect Trump will take office, and is expected to launch a mass deportation operation as well as renewed efforts to ramp up border security. On Friday, Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, faced her confirmation hearing.
During that hearing, she also pledged to secure the border, including promising to end the use of the CBP One app and related parole programs introduced by the Biden administration.
Legal experts slammed President Biden's announcement declaring the 28th Amendment law as "cynical and irrelevant."
Biden on Friday released a statement saying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) should be considered ratified and a new addition to the U.S. Constitution.
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to the Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex," he said.
"Biden’s announcement is both cynical and irrelevant," said former Assistant U.S. attorney and Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy. "If he believed what he is saying, he would’ve said it when his administration started, not when he is on his way out the door as a failed, one-term president.
"More importantly, the president has no constitutional role in the amendment process, so his view carries no weight."
"President Biden seems intent on moving his administration from the odious to the absurd," Jonathan Turley, Fox News contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital. "This was an embarrassingly pandering moment to the most extreme elements in his party. It is a position based on a long-rejected and frankly ridiculous foundation."
When asked about the timing of the announcement by reporters, Biden said Friday, "Because I had to get all of the facts and I contacted every constitutional scholar in the world to make sure it was the right decision."
The ERA would prohibit discrimination based on gender. It was sent to the states for ratification in 1972, with Congress setting a 1979 deadline for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify the amendment. The deadline was later extended to 1982.
Virginia became the last state to pass the amendment in 2020, pushing the final number of states who had passed the amendment to a total of 38. McCarthy noted that the ERA "was not ratified by the states within the statutorily allotted timeframe."
"The only way to get it into the Constitution would be to start all over again," McCarthy said. "Everybody knows this, including Biden. That is why the national archivist has not published it, nor has Biden had the temerity to try to order that that be done."
Turley also said: "Biden notably stopped short of giving the left what it wanted most: an actual executive order on the ratification. He simply made a declaration and presumably left the matter up to the archivist."
The national archivist is responsible for making constitutional amendments official. The archivist had previously declined to certify the amendment, citing a 2020 opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel of the DOJ (OLC) that "affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable."
"The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid," the National Archives said in a statement in December. "Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate."
"This is just pandering," McCarthy said. "It will have no lasting significance."
As Senate confirmation hearings for several of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks get underway, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is particularly eager to see former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed as the nation's top law enforcement official.
"Pam Bondi did a terrific job at her confirmation hearing," Cruz told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday. "She's going to be confirmed. She will be the next attorney general. And I believe, actually, every one of the Trump cabinet nominees is going to be confirmed."
Cruz said that Bondi, who also was a personal lawyer to Trump, "may be the single most important cabinet nominee President Trump has made."
"And the reason for that is under Joe Biden, tragically, we have seen the Department of Justice politicized and weaponized in a way that there is no precedent in our nation's history for how they turned the Department of Justice and the FBI into an arsenal to go after the president's political enemies," Cruz said.
During Bondi's hearing on Wednesday Cruz qasked her whether she would investigate the thousands of unaccounted-for migrant children who have entered the United States.
When asked whether he was confident that she would follow through on that if confirmed, Cruz said, "I am."
"These were unaccompanied minors, little girls, little boys that came into this country that were in the custody of the federal government, and the federal government handed them over to adults," Cruz said. "Many of the adults were not relatives, and they have now lost them. They don't know where they are."
Republican lawmakers have been critical of the Biden administration's handling of the illegal migrant crisis over the past four years.
Shortly after Trump's electoral victory in November, House Republicans grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra over the administration's process used to vet sponsors.
Speaking before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement, Becerra testified about his department's Refugee Resettlement Office, which is charged with caring for, and placement of, unaccompanied migrant children.
Republican subcommittee members accused the Biden administration of rushing migrant children out of HHS custody and into the hands of unvetted sponsors, who sometimes exploited and abused them.
Cruz said that he also asked Trump's pick for HHS secretary, RFK Jr., to conduct an investigation of lost migrant children, "because we have an obligation," he said.
"Those were children in the custody of the government," Cruz said. "We have an obligation to go and protect those kids."
Bondi has secured the support of current and former state attorneys general across the country, as well as more than 100 former top Department of Justice officials. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on her nomination in the coming days.
If the committee approves the nomination, the full Senate will then schedule a vote to confirm her appointment. Although an exact date for the final confirmation vote has not been announced, it is anticipated to be within the next two weeks.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
The Treasury Department announced this week that it had recouped more than $31 million in fraud and improper payments to dead people during just five short months of having access to the Social Security Administration's (SSA) federal death database.
The Treasury Department issues billions of payments every year, including benefit payments, federally funded state-administered payments and other miscellaneous payments. Sending those funds and others by accident to people who are dead has been a long-standing problem within the federal government, according to fiscal watchdog group OpenTheBooks.
In 2020, the Government Accountability Office estimated that during the first round of COVID-19 stimulus checks, $1.4 billion was sent to dead people. Across all three rounds of stimulus checks during the pandemic, nearly $3.6 billion went to dead people, according to OpenTheBooks.
The SSA is the only government agency with a database that records the deaths of U.S. citizens. In 2023, as part of an omnibus appropriations bill, Congress granted access for the Treasury Department, on a temporary basis, to have access to the database to help prevent improper payments to dead people. The temporary basis is set to expire in 2026.
"While this should have been a no-brainer for a long time, it’s promising to see some taxpayer funds being recouped with basic communication among executive agencies," said John Hart, executive director of OpenTheBooks. "Too often the left hand just doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, and it’s resulted in trillions of dollars in improper payments."
Hart blamed the nearly $4 billion in COVID-19 stimulus payments sent to dead people on the Internal Revenue Service's failure to check the SSA's death database.
He also pointed out how, in addition to improper payments through the stimulus check program, the Small Business Administration also sent more than $3 billion more to dead people in the form of forgivable loans "to entities on the Treasury Department’s ‘Do Not Pay’ list."
"Today’s news is a step in the right direction, but there are miles to go before we break even," Hart said.
After news of the recovered payments was announced, Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk noted that the results were "just the tip of the iceberg."
"Congress granting permanent access to the Full Death Master File will significantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity, and better safeguard taxpayer dollars," he said.
Kristi Noem, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was questioned Friday about how she would work with "border czar" Tom Homan and who is in charge of securing the U.S. border.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., asked Noem at her Senate confirmation hearing who is "going to be in charge of the border," saying he was uncertain about how her role relates to Homan’s.
"Well, the president will be in charge of the border. It's a national security issue. And the president is in charge of this country and has made a promise to the American people, and we will fulfill his agenda," Noem replied.
"He is an adviser to the president, the border czar. I obviously will be, if nominated and confirmed, and put into the position of being the Department of Homeland Security secretary and responsible for the authorities that we have in the actions that we take," she said.
"So, I just raise that as a concern of mine, because not only is that about the function of our executive branch, but also the capabilities of this committee to be able to properly do our constitutional duties for oversight, the ability for us to be able to have that conversation, we can talk to you, engage with you," he said.
"If he is going to be making decisions, then he should come before this committee as well."
Noem responded by saying that she and Homan "work very well together and talk and communicate all the time. And we'll be working together on a daily basis when we're in our positions under the new administration. And I would say there's no authority being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I'm in the role."
Freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policy in his first hearing in the Senate as President-elect Trump’s DHS secretary nominee Kristi Noem sat in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
"Just to be clear, Laken Riley would be alive today if you had been the secretary of Homeland Security?" Moreno asked Noem during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday.
"Senator, my hope is that that would be true, yes," Noem responded, as the Laken Riley Act is being debated in the Senate with the aim of preventing crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last year by an illegal immigrant, who was sentenced to life without parole.
During his line of questioning, Moreno implemented a theme of asking Noem about the Mayorkas immigration record and whether the illegal immigration statistics would continue under her watch.
"So, I think sometimes, in D.C., we tend to complicate things," Moreno told Noem. "There is a current secretary of Homeland Security, so why don't we take this opportunity to do a little job review and compare and contrast him to you? So just if you don't mind, I'll ask you some questions, and you can give me an answer. Secretary Mayorkas allowed about 400 people on a terror watch list to come into this country illegally. If you were confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security, how many people on the terror watch list would you allow into this country?"
Noem responded that she would "work every single day" to make sure the number is "zero."
"When you look at the 382 that Joe Biden has let in, and the policies continue, is shocking and needs to be changed immediately," Noem said.
"Mayorokas let in about 12,000 murderers. How many would you target to let into this country?" Moreno asked.
"My goal every day would be to have no murderers allowed into this country," Noem said.
"Mayorkas let in 16,000 rapists. How many would you target to let in?" Moreno continued.
"I would work to make sure there was none let into this country," Noem answered.
Moreno continued by asking Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions let in by Mayorkas, and she responded by saying that any migrants with criminal convictions would be "immediately removed."
Noem also told Moreno that the practice of flying hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States on jets would halt under her tenure.
"And how many illegals will you plan to house in luxury hotel rooms in Manhattan, at a cost of $6,000 per month?" Moreno asked.
"Clearly, senator, during this election, the American people said they did not support that and that that would not be a part of this new administration," Noem said.
"I'm going to end my time with a startling statistic and actually a challenge to the Democrat Party," Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm other aspects of the Biden administration immigration policy that she would halt.
"When Mayorkas was confirmed, every single Democrat voted to confirm him, and six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in that confirmation. If we get to the vote, hopefully, chairman, we could do that Monday, because we cannot wait one single day without you being in charge of that department. We should have 100 percent, 100 senators vote for your confirmation. This will be the litmus test in my mind as to whether we have a Democrat Party that's actually serious about doing bipartisan things like securing this country and protecting our citizens."
Debates over President-elect Trump's inaugural crowd size notably generated controversy back in 2017, with the White House insisting the media underreported Trump's numbers.
With his swearing-in now being moved indoors because of harsh winter weather, Trump is likely to avoid any questions about attendance this time around.
Fox News on Friday learned that Trump's inauguration would be moved indoors because of icy temperatures forecast for Washington, D.C. on Monday. Trump announced that he had ordered his inaugural address and other ceremonial prayers and speeches be held in the United States Capitol Rotunda to protect people from harm.
"The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows," Trump posted on Truth Social.
"There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!)," he continued.
Trump also said the Capital One Arena will be open Monday for live viewing of his inauguration "and to host the Presidential Parade."
"I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing in," Trump wrote.
The Inaugural Committee confirmed Trump's statements, saying the ceremony would be moved inside the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda, a committee spokesperson said.
With attendees no longer being able to gather outside in the cold, any photo op for Trump and a record crowd is likely out of the picture, and so is any chance for people to dispute Trump's claimed crowd size like in 2017.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer lambasted the press shortly after Trump's first inauguration, accusing media outlets of inaccurate reporting on the crowd size.
The day after the inauguration, Spicer said "photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way, in one particular tweet, to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the National Mall."
He also said at the time that "Inaccurate numbers involving crowd size were also tweeted. No one had numbers, because the National Park Service, which controls the National Mall, does not put any out."
"These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong," Spicer said.
The Washington Post reported at the time that Trump had called the acting director of the National Park Service on his first day in office to dispute the photos circulating online of his inaugural crowd size.
President Biden also faced crowd-size barriers during his inauguration in 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions in place. His ceremony was sparsely attended and included former presidents and first ladies. Attendees wore face masks and many failed to abide by social distancing guidelines, with several seen high-fiving and hugging.
The last inauguration ceremony to be moved indoors was President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in January 1985. Reagan took the oath of office at the White House the day before the ceremony, while public events the following day were held inside due to temperatures hitting 7 degrees with a windchill of -40.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo, Peter Doocy, Chad Pergram and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: At the second Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) caucus meeting, Chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led discussions on how they can most effectively and quickly begin cutting waste across the government.
The new 18-member caucus convened on Thursday morning and strategized on how to avoid some of the pitfalls other similar efforts have run into.
"The Senate DOGE Caucus is hitting the ground running on day one of the Trump administration to downsize government," Ernst told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Biden’s bloat has created a target-rich environment for finding ways to eliminate waste and make the bureaucracy accountable to the people. Now is the time for results, and after today, I feel confident that we have plans in place to serve as the action arm in Congress to deliver for taxpayers."
For years, Ernst has been taking inventory of government waste, which has given the caucus a list of places to begin eliminating excess bureaucracy and making the government run more efficiently.
Some specific targets for the caucus are federal telework, IRS agents with unpaid taxes and U.S. funding going to foreign laboratories with little accountability.
Caucus members mapped out how they can address these items in a way that ensures they can get "multiple bites at the apple," per Ernst's office.
To do this, the Republican members plan on taking advantage of tools such as the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which can be used to overturn rules put in place by federal agencies, and budget reconciliation.
The budget reconciliation process is already expected as a key vehicle for Republican tax and immigration policy objectives, and the party has further signaled it could pass two reconciliation bills this year. One senator even suggested they could do three such bills during the 119th Congress.
The benefit of passing legislation through budget reconciliation is that it requires a simple majority and is not subject to the 60-vote threshold of the legislative filibuster. The CRA is similarly not beholden to the filibuster.
Last year, Ernst took the opportunity to lay out a plan that cuts $2 trillion of what she says is waste. In it, she recommends selling empty government buildings, auditing the IRS and firing agents that owe taxes, and slashing seemingly random or "silly" studies conducted by the government, among other things.
DOGE was previously announced by Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new advisory board looking to cut government waste.
