Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, bringing Donald Trump’s term in office to a close.
Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts performed the swearing-in ceremony, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor will induct Kamala Harris as vice president. Trump did not attend the inauguration, flying to Florida before Biden assumed office, however Trump’s vice president Mike Pence was present at the ceremony.
The inauguration took place on the steps of the Capitol, where two weeks previously a mob incited by Trump forced lawmakers to briefly evacuate the building. Dozens of police officers were injured in the rioting, including one, Brian Sicknick, who later died. Another Capitol officer, Eugene Goodman, was honored at the inauguration after video appeared in which Goodman used himself as a decoy to draw rioters away from an open door to the Senate chamber.
President Biden assumed office one day after the U.S. recorded 400,000 deaths from COVID-19. The Biden administration will attempt to jumpstart vaccine distribution as part of a proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, although Democrats will need to get the legislation through an evenly-divided Senate.
Biden also plans to issue a blitz of 17 executive orders immediately following the inauguration. The orders include a mask mandate on federal property, a halt to construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and the rescinding of immigration and travel restrictions from several Muslim-majority countries.
The Biden administration also plans to rejoin the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accords.
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