Biden issues pre-emptive pardons hours before Trump’s inauguration – live

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Monday he hopes US president-elect Donald Trump will have a “fruitful” second term in the White House and maintain his country’s “historic” partnership with Latin America’s No 1 economy.

“On our side, we do not want to get into any fight with the US or with Venezuela, China, India, Russia,” Reuters reports Lula said. “We want peace, harmony, and relations in which diplomacy is the most important thing.”

French prime minister Francois Bayrou warned on Monday that France and Europe as a whole would have to stand up to US president-elect Donald Trump and his policies, or face being “crushed”, Reuters reports.

“The US has decided to embark upon an extremely domineering form of politics, via the dollar, via its industrial policy, via the fact that it can capture the world’s investments and the world’s research,” Bayrou told reporters, as he held a New Year’s address in the city of Pau.

“And if we don’t do anything, our fate is very simple – we will be dominated. We will be crushed. We will be marginalised,” he also said.

Italy's Meloni expected to be only European leader at inauguration

Angela Giuffrida

Angela Giuffrida is the Guardian’s Rome correspondent

Giorgia Meloni is thought to be the only European prime minister attending the inauguration, which Manlio Messina, an MP from her far-right Brothers of Italy party, said “reiterated Italy’s role in strengthening relations between Europe and the US”.

He added: “Meloni’s ability to build a privileged dialogue with the White House makes our country a central player in the main international dynamics.”

Daily Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, reported that Meloni might even snatch a one-to-one meeting, albeit a brief one, with Trump before the event. “Therefore overtaking Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, who by tradition is received first by the White House plenipotentiary at the start of a [presidential] mandate, and who was not even invited,” the newspaper said.

Meloni is a longtime supporter of Trump who travelled to some of his political gatherings before she came to power in October 2022. She has also forged close relations with his billionaire ally, Elon Musk.

The Italian leader made a flying visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf club in Florida earlier this month, during which Trump described her as “a fantastic woman” who is “really taking Europe by storm.

Observers have said that common views on issues ranging from immigration to abortion, alongside the links with Musk, could result in Meloni becoming Trump’s main interlocutor in Europe

Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Victor Orbán, another Trump supporter, was invited but will not be attending.

Elon Musk’s DOGE to be sued within minutes of Trump inauguration – reports

The Washington Post reports that Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” – DOGE – initiative will face a lawsuit within minutes of Donald Trump’s inauguration later today.

Jeff Stein writes:

In a 30-page complaint obtained by the Washington Post ahead of its filing, the public interest law firm National Security Counselors says that the nongovernmental DOGE panel is breaking a 1972 law that requires advisory committees to the executive branch to follow certain rules on disclosure, hiring and other practices.

Elon Musk talks shakes hands with Jared Kushner as Ivanka Trump and Jeff Bezos, second from right, and Shivon Zillis, watch, before president-elect Donald Trump speaks at a dinner at the Building Museum, Sunday, 19 January. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Biden issues pre-emptive pardons to Milley, Dr Fauci and Jan 6 committee members

US president Joe Biden on Monday issued pre-emptive pardons for Gen Mark Milley, Dr Anthony Fauci and members of the January 6 congressional committee and witnesses, saying they “do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”

“Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Biden said in a statement. “Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties.”

More details soon …

CNN’s Evan Perez reports that the incoming Trump administration has still not carried out some important duties before taking over today.

Perez writes:

While this Trump transition has been less chaotic than 2017, the current Trump transition has been slow to do the basic things needed to take the reins of government.

[That is] potentially a problem today if there’s a national security emergency and someone needs to be ready to sign Fisa warrants.

As of last night, the incoming Trump team still had not told Department of Justice who the new acting attorney general would be.

At noon, the last person authorized to sign Fisa warrants will leave without having someone to hand off to.

Deborah Cole is the Guardian’s Berlin correspondent

Germany’s centre-left-led government has been largely frozen out of the inauguration festivities, with only Berlin’s ambassador to Washington, Andreas Michaelis, among the official guests.

Jürgen Hardt, foreign affairs spokesperson for the parliamentary group of the conservative opposition Christian Democrats, frontrunners ahead of next month’s general election, also accepted an invitation.

That paucity contrasts with several invitations sent to members of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland. Although the party’s candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, bowed out citing campaign commitments, at least three AfD officials are attending including co-leader Tino Chrupalla.

He told ZDF public television from Washington it was important to show the incoming US president “respect” but that his nationalist party would push back against any attempts by Trump to impose tariffs that would hit German industry hard.

“We don’t want to open up a trade war,” he said. “Let’s see what Trump implements in the first 100 days. But it’s a bad idea to voice prejudice and hasty judgements now … let’s see what tariffs he even has in mind. What is clear is that he wants to protect his economy and that’s what the Germans and the Europeans need to do too.”

Pope Francis offers prayers and warnings ahead of Trump's second term

Pope Francis has offered prayers in a message to Donald Trump ahead of the inauguration, pointedly saying he hopes that the US will build a society “where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion.”

In a message, the pope said:

On the occasion of your inauguration as the 47th president of the US, I offer cordial greetings and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength, and protection in the exercise of your high duties.

Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion.

At the same time as our human family faces numerous challenges, not to mention the scourge of war, I also ask God to guide your efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples.

With these sentiments I invoke upon you, your family, and the beloved American people an abundance of divine blessings.

On an Italian chatshow on Sunday night, the pope had reacted to the suggestion that the Trump administration would herald the mass deportation of immigrants as “a disgrace”.

Trump has made clear that two of the priorities of his incoming administration will be mass deportations and the rolling back of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes and initiatives.

Lisa O’Carroll in Dublin

Irish Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor was among those who attended the Donald Trump victory rally in Washington DC last night.

McGregor, who recently lost a civil court action taken by a woman in Dublin who alleged he had sexually assaulted her, is a huge star in the US after winning previous Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) belts.

Among those speaking at the event were UFC chief Dana White.

McGregor was pictured with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for the justice portfolio.

Asked by a TV reporter if he was considering running for president of Ireland, McGregor responded: “We will see. We will see. We will see”.

Nigel Farage greets Conor McGregor at the Trump rally last night Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

Writing for political website The Hill, Niall Stanage this morning outlines why Donald Trump appears to be opting for an immediate blitz of executive orders to attempt to force a range of his policies through on day on. Stanage writes:

The incoming president and his allies are signaling the general thrust of his intentions clearly, even if much is yet to be revealed when it comes to specifics.

The advantage in the “shock and awe” approach, especially for an incoming president as controversial as Trump, is that it could leave his opponents uncertain what to focus on – and struggling to bring sustained opposition to bear on any one proposal.

It would also reassure the Trump base that their decision to re-install the most disruptive figure in the nation’s politics was likely to pay off – even as the very same dynamics would likely outrage Democrats and liberals.

Back in November’s election, roughly one-quarter of voters said they wanted “complete and total upheaval” in the nation.

Country star Carrie Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful” at today’s inauguration ceremony.

CNN quotes her telling the news network:

I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event. I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.

Andrew Sparrow in London

The UK prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to travel to Washington “within the next few weeks” to meet president Trump, David Lammy, the UK’s foreign secretary, said today.

I think that when you look at past prime ministers, it’s taken between a week or up to a month to come to Washington. The importance is the strength of the relationship and the serious discussions that we have.

In the end, we have war in Europe, we have a ceasefire in the Middle East, but it’s incredibly fragile, and there are important malign actors like Iran that we’ve got to discuss with the United States and, of course, our growing trade relations with the United States.

So, lots to discuss, and I’m very confident that Keir Starmer will be discussing this with Donald Trump within the next few weeks.

When Trump was first elected president, Theresa May, who was then the UK’s prime minister, became the first foreign leader to meet him in the White House, arriving a week after the inauguration.

Former UK prime minister Theresa May meets US president Donald Trump in January 2017. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

This time UK government sources have briefed that Starmer is not competing to be the first foreign leader through the door – amid reports that the Trump administration is minded to make him wait anyway because Starmer’s Labour party are not ideological allies with Trump’s Maga Republican wing.

Rachel Leingang, Dharna Noor and Adria R Walker report for the Guardian today:

Prominent leftwing activists across the US say a second Trump administration demands new tactics to achieve their goals, amid expectations the huge protests that marked both the Biden and first Trump presidencies won’t materialize in the same way.

As many as 4.6 million people attended Women’s Day marches in the US the day after Donald Trump’s first inauguration. The Saturday before Trump was inaugurated for a second time, thousands turned out in Washington DC and in cities around the country as part of the People’s March, this year’s version of the Women’s March – though the turnout was much smaller than in 2017.

“The novelty of mass mobilization has kind of worn off,” said Jamie Margolin, who previously led climate group Zero Hour.

“Is the goal to demonstrate you are an activist and to self-actualize, or is the goal to actually affect change?” said Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible, a progressive group that emerged in 2016.

They are two of several activists across the country who spoke with the Guardian about their plans. The organizers expressed a need to “get creative” – to find smaller-scale, more impactful means of changing public sentiment and reaching lawmakers.

Read more here: As Trump is inaugurated, activists ask – is there any point in mass protest?

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, who invited Trump to the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris last month, will not be at Trump’s inauguration.

But several French far-right figures said they would be in Washington for the event.

Éric Zemmour, a former talkshow pundit turned far-right politician who ran for French president in 2022 and scored about 7% of the vote, will be in Washington with his partner Sarah Knafo, a member of the European parliament. Zemmour has several convictions for inciting racial hatred.

Also in Washington is Marion Maréchal, another far-right member of the European parliament. Maréchal is the niece of Marine Le Pen but quit Le Pen’s National Rally party and is part of the European Conservatives and Reformists grouping in the European parliament.

Marine Le Pen and her party president Jordan Bardella will not be present. But three members of Le Pen’s National Rally party, the biggest opposition party in the French parliament, will be in Washington as part of the European parliament group, Identity and Democracy. They include the National Rally’s mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot, and the member of the European parliament, Julien Sanchez.

Le Pen’s party has made sure it will be represented in Washington but has been discreet about this back home in France.

Bardella told French TV, France 2, on Monday why he wasn’t going himself: “We can appreciate the patriotism of Trump without necessarily wanting France to be a vassal to the US. I wanted to maintain a balanced position.” He said he had to think of French farmers and wine-makers who could be affected by potential US tariffs.

Last week Bardella, interviewed by another French TV station, CNews, was critical of French politicians vying for selfies at the event. “One has the impression it’s Walt Disney and it’s a race to take a photo in front of Trump during his inauguration speech. There is party friendship, and respect for great political leaders – and Donald Trump is one – but I don’t feel obliged to be beside him or to chase after him.”

Trump to call for 'revolution of common sense' in address – reports

The Wall Street Journal has published what it has labelled an exclusive in the last few minutes which includes a short extract of what Donald Trump is expected to say later on today at his inauguration.

It reports that the incoming 47th president of the US will say:

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. 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.

The paper also reports that Trump will call for a “revolution of common sense.”

Alex Leary writes for the paper:

While a combative Trump in his 2017 address lamented “American carnage,” his 2025 speech has been designed to be more optimistic, people familiar with the drafting say, though Trump is known to veer off script. At the same time, the 47th president is expected to dispense with some of the lofty rhetoric of his predecessors and describe in blunt terms what he views as the most pressing national problems and his solutions for them.

Trump’s inauguration is scheduled for noon local time.

The New York Times has been reporting on a call held by Stephen Miller and senior Republicans on Sunday evening during which Donald Trump’s incoming homeland security adviser and deputy White House chief of staff set out some of the new administration’s plan for reforming the federal workplace.

Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan report:

Miller described, while providing little detail, executive orders to undo actions taken by President Biden to institute “diversity, equity and inclusion” measures in federal agencies, and to roll back protections for transgender people receiving some government services.

Trump also plans to reinstate an order he issued during his first term to create a new category of federal workers, known as Schedule F, that would lack the same job protections enjoyed by career civil servants. That would allow his administration to shift large numbers of federal workers into a new status over which it could keep a much tighter rein, including the ability to hire and fire them more easily.