Donald Trump to be inaugurated as US president

In his final hours in office, President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol. 

He said they "do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions."

"These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing," Biden said in a statement. "Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families."

Biden's decision comes after incoming President Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Trump a fascist and detailed Trump's behavior around the January 6 uprising.

Meanwhile, Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health for nearly 40 years and was Biden's chief medical adviser until his retirement in 2022. 

He helped coordinate the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and drew Trump's ire when he refused to back Trump's unsubstantiated claims about the virus. 

As US President Joe Biden leaves office, Americans have a dimmer view of him than they did at the end of Donald Trump's first term four years ago.

Watch DW's review of his presidential term's successes and blunders below:

Trump's swearing-in ceremony is just hours away.

If you're wondering what happens during the event, who is invited, or who pays for it all, DW has you covered.

We've compiled everything you need to know about the inauguration right here.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly said he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

But since his election, he has not repeated that pledge, and his aides now concede that it will take months to reach a peace agreement.

While there is no fully developed Trump peace plan, most of his key advisers support taking Ukraine's NATO membership off the table as part of any deal, at least for now. They also broadly support freezing the battle lines at their current locations.

Trump has also indicated that Kyiv may have to cede some territory in order to reach a peace agreement.

In early January, Trump said he was optimistic the war would end within six months. He also said preparations were underway for a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin had received no proposals from Trump's team for a meeting with Putin.

According to Lavrov, Russia has not yet seen any concrete proposals on how Trump intends to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic relations as well as European self-reliance.

He made the comments in the Rheinische Post newspaper ahead of Trump's inauguration on Monday.

Scholz said that "trans-Atlantic relations are vital for Germany and Europe."

He also highlighted the US' role in the development of democracy in West Germany and NATO's role as a guarantor of Germany's security, reaffirming the US as Germany's closest ally.

"That is why we need stable relations with the US," he said.

Scholz also emphasized Europe's strategic advantages, saying that "as a community of more than 400 million Europeans" the region has economic might and can "build on our own strength."

The chancellor's remarks came after a cable by the German ambassador to the US was leaked in which he said that Trump's presidency would be "driven by vengeance" and that the new US president would undermine "fundamental democratic principles."

Trump says he plans to issue a flurry of executive orders and directives on issues ranging from energy to immigration after his inauguration.

The incoming president has pledged to deport a record number of immigrants living in the US illegally, and many of the actions he plans to take on his first day as president are aimed at ramping up immigration enforcement.

The executive actions would give federal immigration agents more leeway to arrest people without criminal records, send more troops to the US-Mexico border and restart construction of the border wall. Trump is also expected to declare illegal immigration a national emergency to free up military funds for border wall construction.

On energy, Trump is expected to reduce support for electric vehicles and charging stations and withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, an action he also took during his first term.

Another move Trump could make is to follow through on threats to raise tariffs on imports from America's largest trading partners.

He has also vowed to sign an executive order ending transgender rights in the US military and in US schools.

Outgoing President Joe Biden is expected to attend the ceremony, despite Donald Trump's refusal to appear at Biden's 2021 inauguration.

All living former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — are expected to attend with their wives, with the exception of Michelle Obama.

Heads of state are not traditionally invited to US presidential inaugurations. But Trump has sent invitations to the presidents of China, El Salvador and Argentina, plus the prime ministers of Italy and Hungary.

Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are expected to be present.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend, but sent Vice President Han Zheng to represent him.

Three of the world's richest men — Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg — will also be in attendance.

Donald Trump is scheduled to be sworn in for his second term as US president in Washington, DC at 12 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Monday.

The inauguration comes two and a half months after the Republican defeated outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.

The ceremony was originally due to take place outdoors on the west side of the Capitol. However, it was moved indoors due to freezing temperatures in Washington.

After taking the oath of office, administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Trump will deliver his inaugural address.

He is only the second president in US history to win non-consecutive terms and return to office after a four-year hiatus. The first was Grover Cleveland in the 1890s.

Outgoing President Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020 and hoped to repeat the feat in 2024, but stepped down as the Democratic nominee in mid-2024 amid concerns about his age and mental fitness.

Trump, who long refused to concede defeat in the 2020 election, broke with tradition by staying away from Biden's swearing-in ceremony in January 2021. Biden, however, has said he plans to attend Trump's inauguration and witness the transfer of power. 

dh/nm (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)