National Politics

Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate, challenged Americans Wednesday to unify and “leave behind a country better than the one we were left” as she delivered a stirring inauguration poem. Speaking at a US Capitol that just two weeks before was the site of a harrowing attempt to overthrow American democracy, Gorman bridged

President Joe Biden ended his first day in office with a note of hope and optimism, closing his inaugural activities with an appearance at the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday night, where he asked the nation to answer his call for unity, saying it will require “us to come together in common love that defines us

President Joe Biden is finalizing 17 executive moves just hours after his inauguration Wednesday, moving faster and more aggressively to dismantle his predecessor’s legacy than any other modern president. Biden is signing a flurry of executive orders, memorandums and directives to agencies, his first steps to address the coronavirus pandemic and undo some of former

The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s first Cabinet nominee Wednesday evening, voting to approve his pick for director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, on his first day in office Haines’ confirmation as the first woman to lead the US intelligence community, which was approved in the Senate by 84 to 10, continues a recent Senate

Hours after he was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden signed 17 executive actions to begin overhauling the nation’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic and undo some of the most controversial policies of former President Donald Trump. Entering the Oval Office for the first time as President in the midst

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a slate of acting agency heads after taking office without a single one of his Cabinet nominees in place and confirmed by the US Senate. “These individuals, nearly all of whom are career civil servants, will temporarily lead federal agencies while Cabinet nominees continue moving through the confirmation process,”

Being President of the United States can be lonely and daunting, and only a few people alive know what it’s like first hand. One of the modern Inauguration Day traditions for presidents leaving office is to write their successors a letter offering best wishes and advice. This is usually left on the Resolute Desk to

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas cleared the way for the Senate to vote on the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s director of national intelligence nominee Avril Haines on Wednesday after initially holding up her nomination, making Haines likely to be the first confirmed member of Biden’s Cabinet. Cotton placed a hold on Haines’ nomination

Vice President Kamala Harris formally swore in three new, barrier-breaking Democratic senators on Wednesday afternoon following her own inauguration, officially giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since they lost the chamber in the 2014 elections. Earlier this month, Georgia elected two Democrats — the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff —

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is waiting for an answer from President Joe Biden’s director of national intelligence nominee Avril Haines before he agrees to a speedy Senate confirmation vote, a sign of the challenges that the new President faces getting his Cabinet nominees installed in the evenly divided Senate. Many of Biden’s Cabinet

President Joe Biden is directing the Department of Education Wednesday to extend the suspension of federal student loan payments and interest. Borrowers will not have to make payments until October 1 at the earliest, extending the already unprecedented pause on payments by eight months. When the economy began to shut down in response to the

Hours after he was sworn in, President Joe Biden announced the US plans to reenter the Paris climate accord, the landmark international agreement signed in 2015 to limit global warming, in a sign of Biden’s urgency to address the climate crisis. The US abandoned the agreement late last year on former President Donald Trump’s orders.

President Donald Trump made false claims from the first hours of his term to the last. Trump repeated some of his favorite falsehoods in both his farewell video address, which was released on Tuesday, and in his final speech on Wednesday morning at Joint Base Andrews. One more time, here is a fact check roundup.

Joe Biden took a brief walk along the inaugural parade route Wednesday before entering the White House for the first time as the 46th President of the United States, jogging to the sidelines to greet reporters and the few guests in attendance in a city that is locked down following the security breach at the

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a slate of acting agency heads after taking office without a single one of his Cabinet nominees in place and confirmed by the US Senate. “These individuals, nearly all of whom are career civil servants, will temporarily lead federal agencies while Cabinet nominees continue moving through the confirmation process,”

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to swear in three new, barrier-breaking Democratic senators on Wednesday afternoon following her own inauguration, officially giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since they lost the chamber in the 2014 elections. Earlier this month, Georgia elected two Democrats — the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon

In one last divisive spectacle before exiting the Oval Office, President Donald J. Trump became the first chief executive in modern US history to forgo the tradition of attending his successor’s inauguration. Instead, Trump opted for a departure ceremony that left the self-styled larger-than-life business tycoon-turned-president appearing small and as alone as ever. With the

President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States Wednesday, ushering in a new era of calm and comity to Washington after four divisive and tumultuous years under former President Donald Trump. Standing at the Capitol just two weeks after a mob of insurrectionists invaded that building seeking to overturn

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris took their oaths of office Wednesday in a historic inauguration. Harris will be the first female, the first Black and first South Asian vice president of the United States. After a tumultuous year that began a new chapter of the civil rights movement as Americans took to

After campaigning on a promise to heal a fractured nation, President-elect Joe Biden will begin the work of uniting the country Wednesday when he is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on the West Front of the US Capitol — a mere two weeks after insurrectionists incited by President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump issued a raft of 11th-hour pardons and commutations early Wednesday that included his onetime political strategist, a former top fundraiser and two well-known rappers but not himself or his family. The batch of 73 pardons and 70 commutations issued in the final hours of his presidency was expected, and is in keeping

President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday as the next president of the United States on an Inauguration Day that will look like no other in modern history. In a major break with tradition, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will not welcome Biden and incoming first lady Jill Biden to