Massachusetts must pay the federal government $2.1 billion over the next 10 years to resolve a debt after the state under former GOP Gov. Charlie Baker's administration mistakenly used federal pandemic funds to cover unemployment benefits.
Current Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, and her deputies released details on Monday of a settlement they reached with the outgoing Biden administration last week in which the state will repay most of the money it owed because of the error, the State House News Service reported.
In 2023, Healey announced that her administration uncovered that the prior administration improperly used about $2.5 billion in federal pandemic relief funds to cover unemployment benefits that should have been funded by the state.
The total liability exceeded $3 billion, including fees and interest, according to Healey’s office. Negotiations with the U.S. Department of Labor dropped the total owed to $2.1 billion over the next decade.
"We were dismayed to uncover early on in our term that the previous administration misspent billions of dollars in federal relief funds and that our state was facing what could have been a more than $3 billion tab to pay it back," Healey said in a statement on Monday.
"For the past year and a half, we have engaged in extensive negotiations with the U.S. Department of Labor to minimize the impact on Massachusetts residents, businesses and our economy," she continued. "Today, we have reduced our potential liability by over $1 billion and negotiated a decade-long payment window to mitigate the impact."
The governor added that it is "incredibly frustrating that the prior administration allowed this to happen" but that the current administration is "going to use this as a moment to come together with the business and labor community to make meaningful reforms to the Unemployment Insurance system."
Payments will begin Dec. 1 and continue each year for the next decade.
The agreement states that principal payments must come from the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund, which is funded by a tax on employers and is also used to cover benefits, according to the State House News Service. Interest payments will come from the state’s General Fund.
Healey’s office said businesses will not face higher rates on their unemployment insurance payments through at least the end of next year, at which point rates will depend on system reforms.
The governor vowed to pursue changes to soften the burden on employers, who already face higher costs to support an uptick of claims during the pandemic, according to the State House News Service.
Healey directed state Labor Secretary Lauren Jones and Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz to "conduct a comprehensive review of the solvency of UI and assess potential reforms."
The Healey administration projected the UI Trust Fund would be hundreds of millions of dollars in debt by the end of 2028, even before taking into account the $2.1 billion in additional payments.
President Trump was inaugurated for a second time on Monday.
The inauguration kicked off the day on a historic note, with the ceremony moved indoors due to freezing temperatures. Notable moments played out throughout the day, including Trump's fiery speech shortly after being sworn in, to an audio mishap that inadvertently turned into a collaborative singing effort.
Here are the top five moments from Trump's second inauguration.
"The golden Age of America begins right now," Trump said shortly after being sworn in. "From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world."
Trump started out his first speech officially as president by saying the U.S. would now be "the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer."
The president assailed the Biden-Harris administration as the former president and vice president looked on. Trump specifically slammed the "vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government" and said the country has been operating under "a radical and corrupt establishment."
"While the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair, we now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home," Trump said.
Trump criticized the Biden administration's handling of various national disasters, including hurricane damage in North Carolina and recent wildfires in California.
"Jan. 20th, 2025, is Liberation Day," Trump said. "It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country."
President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, did their first dance together as POTUS and FLOTUS Monday night at the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The dance featured a nifty spin move by the President.
First lady Melania Trump donned a white, strapless gown with black detailing following a full day of inauguration festivities. She coupled the dress with a black choker.
The ball is one of two others that Trump made an appearance in: the Liberty Ball and Starlight Ball.
Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, also joined Trump and Melania onstage for a quick dance, before they exchanged partners with military servicemembers.
First lady Melania Trump donned a weather-appropriate outfit for her husband's second inaugural ceremony. Melania was pictured wearing a custom Adam Lippes double-breasted navy coat with a matching boater hat designed by Eric Javits while on her way to a service at St. John's Church on Inauguration Day, according to Page Six.
Social media users flocked to X, formerly Twitter, to post compliments on the first lady's inaugural getup, with many saying she looked "elegant" and "classy."
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, on the other hand, had a slightly more warmer-weather-style outfit for the inauguration ceremony. Fetterman was seen sporting gray gym shorts, a dark hoodie and sneakers as he arrived at Capitol Hill.
The senator's attire also drew attention given the chilly temperatures on Monday. Trump's second inauguration notably marked the coldest presidential inauguration ceremony in more than 40 years.
Trump tried to kiss Melania shortly before his swearing-in after initially entering the Capitol Rotunda, leading to an awkward air-kiss encounter.
Trump and Melania were surrounded by former presidents and their wives along with Cabinet nominees, foreign dignitaries and other high-profile guests upon entering the building. Trump leaned in to give Melania a kiss on the cheek when Melania's hat got in the way.
They ultimately settled on an air kiss.
Country singer Carrie Underwood showed she was a true professional during her rendition of "America the Beautiful" after a hiccup with the music.
Underwood was welcomed with a round of applause as she was introduced. Once on stage, Underwood patiently waited for the instrumentals to start, which ultimately never came.
President Trump did not pardon or commute the prison sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the anonymous marketplace website Silk Road, despite his promise on the campaign trail to free him on "day one."
Ulbricht was convicted because his website, which was founded in 2011 and used cryptocurrency for payments, was used to sell illegal drugs, even though he did not sell any of the illicit substances himself.
After being sworn into office on Monday, Trump issued several executive actions, including efforts to reduce immigration, designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a move to resume federal executions and pardoning or commuting sentences to time served of people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
But Trump's first day back in the White House came to an end with Ulbricht still behind bars without a pardon or commutation from the president, who pledged to do so last spring.
In May, Trump delivered a speech at the Libertarian National Convention to a hostile crowd of boos in an attempt to win over Libertarian voters. Libertarians believe government investigators overreached in their case against Silk Road and generally oppose the War on Drugs.
While the attendees were not favorable to Trump for most of the event, they did give a big cheer when he said he would commute Ulbricht's sentence to time served, as the crowd chanted "Free Ross" in the hopes that the then-presidential candidate would take action if elected to allow the Silk Road founder to return home to his family after more than a decade behind bars.
"If you vote for me, on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, to a sentence of time served. He’s already served 11 years. We’re going to get him home," Trump told the crowd of Libertarians, many of whom were holding signs that read "Free Ross."
Ulbricht reacted to Trump's comments the following day on the social media platform X.
"Last night, Donald Trump pledged to commute my sentence on day 1, if reelected," he wrote. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. After 11 years in prison, it is hard to express how I feel at this moment. It is thanks to your undying support that I may get a second chance."
Last month, Ulbricht wrote: "For my last monthly resolution of 2024, I intend to study every day and to get up to speed as much as I can as I prepare for freedom."
Trump later reiterated his promise to commute Ulbricht's life sentence at a bitcoin conference, which he received loud cheers for.
Despite Trump failing to deliver on his promise to free Ulbricht on his first day back in office, the president reportedly may still grant him clemency as early as Tuesday.
"Pres. Trump's staff just confirmed to me Ross's pardon will be issued late tonight or tomorrow morning," Libertarian Party chair Angela McArdle wrote Monday night on X.
Elon Musk, who serves in the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump administration, also said Ulbricht would be released soon.
"Ross will be freed," Musk wrote on X.
Many Libertarians have said they supported Trump in November's election, citing, in part, his commitment to free Ulbricht.
During his first term, Trump considered intervening to release Ulbricht before ultimately deciding against a pardon.
Ulbricht, now 40, operated the website from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. He was sentenced two years later to life in prison.
"I was trying to help us move toward a freer and more equitable world," Ulbricht said from prison in 2021. "We all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and now here I am. I'm in hell."
"Trump is done signing EOs and pardons for the night," 2024 Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver wrote on X. "Hopefully, we will see a #FREEROSSULBRICHT commutation in the morning."
President Trump, immediately upon taking office, flexed his presidential powers as he followed through on some of the major pledges he made on the campaign trail.
"Today I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of commonsense," the nation's 47th president vowed during his inauguration address Monday at the U.S. Capitol.
Hours later, Trump followed through, with an avalanche of executive order signings at Washington's Capitol One Arena, in front of thousands of supporters - a first in the nation's history - and later in the more traditional Oval Office setting at the White House.
"It's just pure Trump. He's the first president in a new connected world in which you have to govern from the outside in. You have to mount support and bring the people with you," veteran Republican strategist Alex Castellanos told Fox News Digital.
Trump's immigration promises were a centerpiece of his successful presidential campaign to win back the White House.
"On Day One, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America," the then-Republican presidential nominee vowed during a late October rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
And Trump took immediate action during his first hours back in office.
The new president declared a national emergency along the southern border with Mexico and ordered the deployment of U.S. troops to help support immigration agents. Trump also ordered the restart of a policy from his first administration that forced asylum seekers to wait over the border in Mexico. But it's unclear if Mexico would accept migrants again.
Trump also directed the federal government to resume border wall construction, begun during his first term but halted by President Biden.
And Trump signed an order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal migrants. But with birthright citizenship enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, Trump's executive order is sure to face immediate legal challenges in court from civil rights groups and immigration activists.
"I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted. And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country," Trump emphasized in his inauguration address.
And the president also announced that "we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks."
During his two-year run to return to the White House, Trump repeatedly vowed to "drill, baby, drill," and pledged to end the Biden administration's electric vehicle mandate.
On Monday, Trump followed through, as he tied his energy executive orders to his efforts to keep inflation in check.
"I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation, and rapidly bring down costs and prices. The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices," Trump argued.
And he said "that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill. America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have. The largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth."
During the 2024 cycle, Trump and Republicans repeatedly targeted Democrats up and down the ballot over the Biden administration's protections for transgender students
"We’re going to end it on Day One," Trump vowed last May. "Don’t forget, that was done as an order from the president. That came down as an executive order. And we’re going to change it — on Day One, it’s going to be changed."
Trump followed through, taking executive action from what the president's advisers said would "defend women from gender, ideology, extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government."
"As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female," the president said.
The president also signed orders terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs - best known by their acronym DEI - within the federal government. The orders direct the White House to identify and end the programs within the government.
Another promise from the campaign trail - pardoning the defendants and commuting the sentences of many of those convicted of charges from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who unsuccessfully tried to halt congressional certification of President Biden's 2020 election victory.
Trump didn't mention the pardons in his inauguration address, but minutes later as he spoke to supporters gathered in an overflow room in the U.S. Capitol, he reiterated his longstanding unproven claim that the 2020 presidential election "was totally rigged."
A couple of hours later, in front of cheering supporters packed into Washington DC's downtown arena, Trump touted that he would be "signing pardons for a lot of people…to get them out" immediately.
He wasn't kidding.
The president, back at the White House, ended up pardoning around 1,500 people - including some convicted of attacking police officers - obliterating the Justice Department's effort to punish those who stormed the Capitol on one of America's darkest days.
"These people have been destroyed," Trump argued as he signed the pardons. "What they’ve done to these people has been outrageous."
Trump also took action on something that didn't come up on the campaign trail.
"A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America," Trump declared in his inauguration address.
And pointing to Alaska's Mount Denali, which is North America's tallest peak, the president said "we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs."
"He's flooding the zone. He's making a case for action. He's demonstrating action. He is rallying a wave of American support for a massive transformation of government," Castellanos, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, told Fox News. "I think it's overwhelming and Democrats just don't know what's hitting them."
"Could you imagine Biden doing this. I don't think so," the president said, as he signed executive orders in front of thousands of his supporters.
But Trump didn't follow through on all of his campaign promises.
One of his most prominent vows he didn't act on during his first day in office involved immediately ending a deadly war in Eastern Europe.
Trump repeatedly touted on the campaign trail that he would end the nearly three-year-long war between Russia and Ukraine "in one day."
"They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours," Trump vowed during a May 2023 town hall.
And in September, during his single debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump vowed "I will get it settled before I even become president."
That, obviously, didn't happen.
And earlier this month, retired Gen. Keith Kellog, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, offered a longer timetable.
"I would like to set a goal on a personal level, professional level, I would say let’s set it at 100 days," he said in a Fox News Channel interview.
President Donald Trump's second inaugural address was a policy-oriented message "of hope and unity," experts said.
Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, called Trump's address "substantive" when it came to outlining the president's agenda for the next four years.
"Trump was policy-specific from beginning to end," Roberts said. "And I think that that's something that's going to be remembered as a distinguishing characteristic of the speech, because people, Americans waking up tomorrow watching the news, reading the news, will remember that Trump articulated a playbook."
"The golden Age of America begins right now," Trump said as he delivered his inaugural address on Capitol Hill Monday.
"From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world," he continued. "We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first."
Trump notably bashed "the vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department" as well as the Biden-Harris administration's handling of both foreign and domestic issues while both the former president and vice president looked on. Trump specifically noted the North Carolina hurricane disasters and the recent wildfires ravaging Southern California.
"We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people," Trump said.
Trump's policy-specific speech was "very important right now because of all of the policy failures of the Biden-Harris regime," Roberts told Fox News Digital on Monday. "And I know from the kind of work that Heritage does, not just in D.C. but in states around the country, that Trump's base and a lot of the independent voters who voted for him this time around [were] looking for a policy plan, and he articulated it."
"President Trump has officially kicked off a new chapter for America," Jessica Anderson, president of the conservative super PAC Sentinel Action Fund, told Fox News Digital on Monday. "His speech was one of hope and unity as he set the tone for the next four years of prosperity, security and strength."
Both Roberts and Anderson noted that Trump's address also was a turning point in definitively announcing that a new administration was taking over the White House.
"As President Trump made clear, he is not going to waste any time getting to work for the American people, and he has already teed up dozens of executive orders on everything from securing the border to properly defining gender," Anderson said.
"It was not gratuitous in his criticism of his political opponents," Roberts said. "But you didn't have to do much reading between the lines to understand that the sheriff is back in town. He's going to take this country back."
Trump's speech also emphasized his top priority in making America "a nation that is proud, prosperous and free," echoing sentiments of the New Frontier theme.
"We are one people, one family and one glorious nation under God," Trump said. "So to every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for their future, I am with you. I will fight for you and I will win for you. We are going to win like never before."
Roberts said, "I think Trump put his finger on something that's, right now, going to be an underappreciated part of his legacy, and that is a president of American innovation."
"In other words, making America great again is bringing American manufacturing and economic vitality back to a level where the innovation is so tremendous you can't even comprehend as you sit here what it's going to be."
Roberts said such an invocation of the "real spirit of America" in Trump's speech indicated "bringing American manufacturing and economic vitality back" during his second administration, which was a theme that Roberts said both Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy incorporated into their own inaugural addresses.
EXCLUSIVE: The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has been terminated over concerns about the border, recruitment concerns and an "erosion of trust," a senior DHS official confirmed to Fox News.
Adm. Linda Lee Fagan has been terminated by the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman, the official said.
Fagan has demonstrated leadership deficiencies, operational failures and an inability to advance the strategic objectives of the Coast Guard.
These include the failure to address border security threats, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and an "erosion of trust" over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor.
Fagan served as the 27th Commandant of the Coast Guard starting on June 1st, 2022. She was tasked with overseeing all global Coast Guard operations and 42,000 active-duty, 7,000 reserve and 8,700 civilian personnel, as well as the support of 21,000 Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers.
President Donald Trump pulled the security clearances of more than 50 national security officials who said Hunter Biden’s laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."
A total of 51 former national security officials released a public letter in 2020 claiming that even though the laptop did not have "any evidence of Russian involvement," it looked like a "Russian information operation."
The letter came after the New York Post reported they had emails showing Hunter Biden coordinated for Joe Biden to meet with a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma months before pressuring Ukrainian officials to oust a prosecutor investigating the company.
Included on the list are former director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr., former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Hayden, John Brennan, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
Fox News Digital previously reported that federal investigators with the Department of Justice were aware that Hunter Biden’s laptop was not manipulated and contained "reliable evidence."
Republican lawmakers including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have previously suggested withdrawing the security clearances of these officials.
The order was one of more than 200 executive orders Trump approved on Inauguration Day, joining directives like withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement that the U.S. initially entered under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015.
Trump previously withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term in 2020.
Other executive orders Trump signed on day one include rescinding nearly 80 executive orders and memoranda issued under Biden, issuing a regulatory and hiring freeze upon the federal government, preventing "government censorship" of free speech, and directing every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis.
President Donald Trump arrived at the Commander-in-Chief Ball shortly after 10 PM ET on Monday, and shared his First Dance with first lady Melania Trump – his first of three ball appearances that night.
Shortly after the band played "Americans, We," Trump was introduced by an emcee at the Walter Washington Convention Center in Mount Vernon Square, D.C.
For his first dance, Trump and first lady Melania Trump danced to a contemporary rendition of Julia Ward Howe’s 1861 Civil War anthem "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
The song was the clarion call of the Union Army of the Potomac – and the opposite number to the Confederate Army’s "Dixie."
In brief remarks, Trump told the crowd the election was a "tremendous win" and that a big reason he won was "my relationship with you (the American people)."
At the military themed ball, he praised his Pentagon chief nominee Pete Hegseth.
Trump also spoke at two other balls later in the night, another located at the Washington Convention Center and the final one located at Union Station.
The Liberty Ball was sandwiched between the Commander-in-Chief Ball and the Starlight Ball.
While the Commander-in-Chief ball was geared towards service members, the Liberty Ball is set to include a wide-range of Trump supporters. It is being headlined by Trump's address, but, also similar to the Commander-in-Chief Ball, will include some musical performances as well. Those performances will include country singer Jason Aldean, rapper Nelly, and the Village People.
At the Liberty Ball – also held at the convention center – Trump shared another first dance with Mrs. Trump.
Several members of the Trump family then took the stage, along with Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance. They danced to "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers.
Trump told the Liberty Ball crowd it had been "a hell of a day."
The balls follow a jam-packed day of events that included President Trump's formal swearing-in ceremony, an inaugural parade at Capital One Arena, an Oval Office signing ceremony, and much more.
During the day's events Trump signed a slew of executive orders related to border security, diversity, equity and inclusion, Jan. 6, energy and the climate, and the federal workforce.
The number of orders he signed outnumbered how many Trump signed during his first day in office in 2017, as well as the number that President Biden signed during his first day as president.
The Liberty Ball is set to include a wide-range of Trump supporters. It is being headlined by Trump's address, but, also similar to the Commander-in-Chief Ball, will include some musical performances as well.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., slammed President Trump on Monday night for pardoning more than 1,000 people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots.
Trump signed pardons for approximately 1,500 defendants who were charged with crimes stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol, fulfilling a promise he made in December to act quickly and pardon them.
Trump also commuted the sentences of six people on Monday, including the leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups.
But Pelosi called the move "shameful" and said to remember the "courage" of law enforcement "heroes" who "ensured that democracy survived."
"The President's actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution," Pelosi, who didn’t attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, said in a statement posted to X.
"It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power," Pelosi wrote.
The Justice Department reported that approximately 140 police officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. That included law enforcement members from both the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.
"Tonight I'm going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons to get them out," Trump said at the parade at Capital One Arena. "I'm going to the Oval Office, and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people."
So far, judges or a jury after a trial have convicted roughly 250 people who faced charges for their involvement in the riot, and more than 1,000 had pleaded guilty to crimes as of January.
President Trump's youngest son Barron, 18, stepped into the spotlight at his father's inauguration on Monday.
Standing at a towering 6'9", many attendees and viewers remarked about how mature the younger Trump has become since his father first took office back in January 2017.
At 10 years old, Barron Trump was often the victim of cruel jokes and rumors from his father's critics. His mother, Melania Trump, attempted to shield him from unwanted scrutiny, though sometimes to no avail.
On Monday, the first son commanded respect from onlookers as he stood by his father's side during the inaugural ceremonies. Here's a look at how Barron Trump has grown up since 2017.
At 10 years old, Barron Trump became the first son to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. in 1961.
Barron, who turned 11 in March of 2017, also lived at Trump Tower in New York at the same time, attending Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on the Upper West Side.
Beginning in 2016, rumors swirled about Barron Trump possibly having autism, which comedian Rosie O'Donnell amplified. In 2024, Melania Trump said that the rumors deeply impacted her son, who was bullied at school.
"I was appalled by such cruelty," Melania Trump wrote in her memoir. "It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism. I felt that she was attacking my son because she didn’t like my husband."
"There is nothing shameful about autism (though O’Donnell’s tweet implied that there was), but Barron is not autistic," she added. "Barron’s experience of being bullied both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage caused."
Barron turned 12 years old in March 2018 and continued to be a common target for Trump's enemies.
Actor Peter Fonda called for officials to "rip Barron Trump from his mother's arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles." He later apologized for the remarks.
"I tweeted something highly inappropriate and vulgar about the president and his family in response to the devastating images I was seeing on television," Fonda said in the statement shortly after. "Like many Americans, I am very impassioned and distraught over the situation with children separated from their families at the border, but I went way too far."
Barron was 13 years old when his family permanently relocated to Mar-a-Lago in 2019. That year, Trump said he would have a "hard time" allowing his son to play football.
"I just don't like the reports that I see coming out having to do with football — I mean, it's a dangerous sport and I think it's really tough," Trump said at the time. "I thought the equipment would get better, and it has. The helmets have gotten far better, but it hasn't solved the problem."
During a 2019 House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing, Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan remarked that then-President Trump could "name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron."
Melania Trump was upset that her young son was mentioned at the hearing.
"A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics," the first lady tweeted at the time. "Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it."
As Trump was fighting for his re-election bid in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the United States, Barron Trump continued to attend school and stayed out of the public spotlight. In 2020, "Jeopardy" host Ken Jennings apologized for a joke he told about Barron in 2017.
"Barron saw a very long necktie and a heap of expired deli meat in a dumpster," Jennings tweeted at the time. "He thought it was his dad & his little heart is breaking."
"Hey, I just wanted to own up to the fact that over the years on Twitter, I've definitely tweeted some unartful [sic] and insensitive things," Jennings wrote in 2020. "Sometimes they worked as jokes in my head and I was dismayed to see how they read on screen."
Barron Trump was 14 years old when his father left office in January. He lived with his mother at Mar-a-Lago full-time and stayed out of the spotlight.
In July 2021, he was seen leaving Trump Tower with Melania Trump.
Barron Trump was 16 when FBI agents raided his father's Florida estate. He kept a low profile during this year, but he was seen in public with both of his parents at the funeral of Ivana Trump, Trump's first wife, in July 2022.
As President Trump's campaign kicked up again in 2023, Barron was still absent from the public spotlight. In August of that year, his father's mugshot was released.
Barron Trump matriculated at New York University (NYU) in the fall of 2024. He graduated from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach in May, and was seen attending classes at NYU'S Stern School of Business.
In November, he also voted for the first time, casting a ballot for his father in Florida.
Barron looked sharp as he attended his father's inauguration on Jan. 20. Later during the day, he waved to the crowd after his father mentioned his role in the 2024 campaign.
"I have a very tall son named Barron. Has anyone ever heard of him?" Trump said to cheers, as the first son waved at attendees.
"He knew the youth vote. You know, we won the youth vote by 36 points… He said, ‘Dad, you got to go out, do Joe Rogan, do all these guys,’" Trump recalled. "We did, we did. And Joe Rogan was great."
The 18-year-old also wowed attendees when he shook hands with President Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris, with some social media users speculating that he may pursue a political career in the future.
"Barron Trump just shook hands with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris," one X user wrote. "This kid will be our President one day. Bet on it."
"Barron Trump is a natural," another said of Barron. "Totally owned the moment."
Fox News Digital's Brooke Curto and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants on Monday night, after promising at his inaugural parade to sign an executive order on the matter.
Sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Trump signed off on releasing more than 1,500 charged with crimes stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. The order requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons to act immediately on receipt of the pardons.
"Tonight I'm going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons to get them out," Trump said at the parade at Capital One Arena in Washington. "I'm going to the Oval Office and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people."
Those pardoned include Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys chairman, who faced a sentence of 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy. Tarrio's attorney told the Associated Press he expects Tarrio to face release Monday evening.
Trump previously promised that he would be "acting very quickly" on his first day in office to pardon to the so-called "hostages."
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Trump's pardon "shameful," and said to remember the "courage" of law enforcement "heroes" who "ensured that democracy survived."
"The President's actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution," Pelosi, who didn’t attend Trump’s inauguration Monday, said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
"It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power," Pelosi said.
The pardon was one of more than 200 executive orders Trump was expected to sign on Inauguration Day. Other directives he signed on Monday include withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement that the U.S. initially entered under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015.
Trump previously withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term in 2020.
On Monday morning, then-President Joe Biden issued a series of pardons just hours before Trump’s swearing in at the U.S. Capitol. Those pardoned by Biden include former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Mark Milley, whom Trump has accused of committing treason. Others Biden pardoned were those involved in the Jan. 6 Select Committee investigation that conducted a probe into the attack.
"The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense," Biden said in a statement. "Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country."
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump, while signing a flurry of executive orders from the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office of the White House as the now 47th President of the United States, discovered a letter from his predecessor inside one of the desk’s drawers with the help of a Fox News reporter.
Trump was in the process of signing one of many executive orders on Monday after returning to the White House when Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked if President Biden left him a letter.
"He may have. Don’t they leave it in the desk? I don’t know," Trump told Doocy before discovering a white envelope with the number "47" written on it. "Thank you, Peter. It could have been years before we found this thing."
Trump then teased everyone in the room by suggesting they all read the letter together, before pulling back the reigns.
In leaving the letter for Trump, Biden kept with the now 36-year tradition of the departing commander in chief, writing a note to the incoming president.
As he left the White House in 1989 after two terms in office, President Ronald Reagan started the tradition – leaving a note for his successor, George H. W. Bush, who also happened to be his vice president.
Four years later, despite losing to then-Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas, outgoing President Bush left Clinton a note in the Oval Office. The tradition has carried on to this day.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump's Cabinet picks to receive congressional approval.
Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed during a floor vote by the full Senate Monday night, several hours after Trump took his oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate floor vote occurred following a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio's nomination Monday.
Rubio enters his role as secretary of state with a strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate's Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban American.
His road to confirmation has been less controversial than many of Trump's other Cabinet picks. At Rubio's first confirmation hearing last week in front of the Foreign Relations Committee, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said she thought Rubio possessed "the skills" and is "well-qualified" to serve as the next secretary of state. She echoed this sentiment Monday evening as well before the full Senate vote.
"I've had a good working relationship with Sen. Rubio for many years, and I was very impressed during his hearing by his grasp of policy," Shaheen said Monday evening. "While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be secretary of state."
Rubio expressed during his initial confirmation hearing last week that under Trump the State Department's "top priority" will be to put America first.
"This will not be easy," Rubio said. "And it will be impossible without a strong and a confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests, once again, above all else."
Rubio will face some major challenges heading into his new role, notably the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Rubio described the fighting between Ukraine and Russia as a "stalemate" that "has to end" during his confirmation hearing last week, adding that under Trump's proposed peace deal both countries will have to make "concessions." Meanwhile, despite Trump's past criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Rubio called the alliance "very important" and insisted that Trump was also a NATO supporter.
On Gaza, Rubio supported Israel's actions to defend itself against Hamas but stopped short of indicating one way or the other if he thought Israel's annexation of parts of the West Bank was something he supported.
"The idea would be that there not be conflict and the people could live side-by-side with one another without being in conflict and with the ability to pursue prosperity," Rubio said. "Sadly and unfortunately the conditions for that to exist have not been in place for a substantial period of time."
Rubio also repeatedly singled out China during his remarks in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. "We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities," Rubio posited at his hearing. "Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense."
While Rubio did not face significant opposition to his confirmation, some Trump-aligned Republicans have expressed disdain over Rubio's willingness to certify the results of the 2020 election that Trump alleged was "stolen" from him. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been an outspoken supporter of less U.S. intervention, also questioned Rubio's hawkish stance on American intervention amid his confirmation to be secretary of state.
President Trump bucked tradition on Monday when he did not place his hand on the Bible while taking the oath of office during his second inauguration.
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath, telling Trump, who was walking toward him, to raise his right hand and repeat the words he was about to say.
Trump then raised his right hand, and as Roberts said, "I, Donald John Trump," first lady Melania Trump was seen approaching with a stack of Bibles.
Rather than place his left hand on the Bibles, he kept his hand by his side and continued to take the oath of office as his family filed in behind him.
Melania Trump held two Bibles — one was the Lincoln Bible and the other was her husband's personal Bible that was given to him by his mother when he was a child. Trump did place his hand on both those Bibles when he took the oath of office in 2017.
Trump's team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on why the president did not place his hand on the Bibles.
Vice President JD Vance did place his hand on the Bible while he was sworn in.
Some people on social media say Roberts rushed the oath, while others appeared to be in disbelief that Trump did not place his hand on the Bibles, which is a tradition dating back to the very first inauguration of President George Washington.
While it is traditional for the incoming president to place a hand on the Bible while taking the oath of office, there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that requires them to do so.
In fact, presidents "shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation," according to Article VI of the Constitution. The same article states, "...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Article II of the Constitution also says the president must take the oath before entering office, though there is no mention of religion.
The Constitution lays out the exact language to be used in the 34-word oath of office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Many judges have tacked on four little words, "so help me God." It is not legally or constitutionally required, unlike other federal oaths that invoke the words as standard procedure. Historians have been at odds over whether President Washington established precedent by adding the phrase on his own during his first acceptance, but contemporary accounts mention no such ad-libbing.
Abraham Lincoln was reported to have said it spontaneously in 1861, and other presidents over the years have followed suit. A Bible is traditionally used, with the president placing one hand on it while raising the other during the oath of office.
The Constitution also does not require the president or members of Congress or federal judges to be sworn in by a Supreme Court justice, though they just have for inaugurations, most of the time.
When Washington took the first oath of office in 1789, the Supreme Court had not yet been formed, so New York’s highest-ranking judge did the honors at Federal Hall on Wall Street.
Four years later, Associate Justice William Cushing swore in Washington for a second term, beginning the Supreme Court tradition.
Fox News’ Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON, DC— Several hundred protesters gathered in Washington, D.C. as President Trump was being sworn into office on Monday and several told Fox News Digital they braved the frigid temperatures to speak out against "colonialism" and "fascism" they believe is coming under Trump’s term.
"I’m coming out because I think it's important to make a stand against the country's slide towards fascism and against war and genocide and to just show that people are going to keep fighting no matter what attacks come down, and we know that they're going to happen," Gregory, who said he traveled from New Orleans to attend the We Fight Back rally at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital.
"We know the conditions are going to keep getting worse. We've just got to keep fighting."
Maxwell, who traveled to the inauguration protest from Baltimore, told Fox News Digital, "I'm here to make a stand to say that we're not going away and that the dangers of poverty and wealth inequality, misogyny, discrimination against the LGBTQ community and immigrants who make up the people of our nation deserve to have a voice and deserve to have people stand up for them domestically and also to end imperialism and colonialism and, you know, to discontinue that oppression enacted by the United States government and that's why we're here today."
Many of the protesters brought signs and props, including one man who rolled a large guillotine replica, which he told Fox News Digital was an "art piece" that is "open to interpretation."
"I want people to know that they have the power to make themselves heard, to voice their anger and to say, you know, to send a message to the people that are above us, people that are ruling us, that, you know, we are here, we're powerful, and they better, you know, tread lightly. You know, it's just a sculpture, but it should be a little scary."
An inscription beneath the guillotine said, "come get sum."
Mara, who identifies as transgender, told Fox News Digital that Trump is a "fascist."
"It’s important for me to be here. First of all, Donald Trump, with his extreme right wing agenda, has, among other things, to label trans people as pedophiles and then execute them," Mara said. "So as a trans person, that's kind of alarming. In addition to that, he has been said not just by left-wing people, but by his own conservative generals, he's been called a fascist. So I'm out here to reject fascism and say it has no place in our America."
The signs in the crowd contained phrases that included "socialism beats fascism" and "fight Trump's agenda."
After the speeches wrapped up, many of which included rallying cries to "Free Palestine" and end Israel's "genocide" in Gaza, the group walked out of the park and marched down the local streets.
Counter-protesters showed up as the march got underway, and several individuals engaged in shouting matches.
Protests against Trump's inauguration were far more subdued than the protests that took place at the start of his first term in office and do not appear to have been violent, which it was eight years ago when hundreds of protesters were arrested.
Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, marking his return to the Oval Office with a pledge to restore America to a "golden age."
Trump addressed the nation after taking the oath of office for the second time and used his inaugural address remarks to call for a "revolution of common sense."
"I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success. A tide of change is sweeping the country," Trump said. "My message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of history’s greatest civilization."
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Here's what's happening…
- Trump fans endure frigid temps, sleet, and snow for a chance to see 47th president
- Trump vows 'new era of national success,' says America's 'decline is over' in inaugural address
President Trump said a "tide of change is sweeping the country,"striking an optimistic note as he told Americans during his inaugural address Monday that the U.S. is beginning a "new era of national success," while declaring that the country's "decline is over."
Trump addressed the nation on Monday after taking the oath of office for the second time and being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.
"In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly. But we are going to bring it back and make it great again, greater than ever before. We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable. America will be respected again and admired again, including by people of religion, faith, and goodwill," he said…Read more
BEG YOUR PARDON: GOP lawmakers pledge to investigate Biden's last-minute pardons…Read more
'THIS IS DESPICABLE': Virginia governor, AG react to Biden granting clemency to 'cop killers'…Read more
LAST-MINUTE PARDONS: High-profile Dems warned Biden against preemptive pardons before giving Fauci, Milley passes…Read more
BROTHERLY LOVE: President Biden pardons his siblings just minutes before leaving office…Read more
'DONE NOTHING WRONG': Biden pardons Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, J6 committee members…Read more
TIME FOR TRUMP: Laken Riley Act set to become one of first bills to hit Trump's desk…Read more
BORDER BLITZ: Trump to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, halt refugee flow…Read more
IN COURT: Elon Musk's DOGE faces first legal challenge within hours of Trump inauguration…Read more
PAGE REFRESH: White House website now lists Trump as president, removes Biden, Harris content…Read more
CULTURE WAR: Trump targets culture war lightning rods in early slate of executive orders…Read more
NO-SHOW MICHELLE: Former first lady skips Trump inauguration as Barack arrives solo…Read more
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: NYC Mayor Adams attends inauguration at Trump team's request…Read more
SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES: Former presidents mum following Trump's second inauguration…Read more
ALL THAT GLITTERS: 'New Golden Age': Republican lawmakers ecstatic as Trump takes office with slate of new orders…Read more
FEELING BLUE: Dems promise to 'stand up to' Trump but laud 'peaceful transfer of power' after speech…Read more
LONG-AWAITED MOVE: Trump national security adviser pick Waltz resigns from House, shrinking GOP majority…Read more
DONE AT DOGE: Ramaswamy launching Ohio governor run early next week, say sources…Read more
MARK MILLEY PARDONED: General at center of Afghanistan withdrawal predicted it wouldn't be a Saigon moment…Read more
CLEARING OUT: Acting FBI Director Paul Abbate retires just minutes before Trump takes office: report…Read more
WORLD OF DIFFERENCE: Trump's UN ambassador nominee says she sees 'great promise' in United Nations…Read more
Get the latest updates on the Trump administration, Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
