Ceremonial military teams rehearse for the presidential inauguration in Washington. Getty Images / AFP
Ceremonial military teams rehearse for the presidential inauguration in Washington. Getty Images / AFP
Ceremonial military teams rehearse for the presidential inauguration in Washington. Getty Images / AFP
Ceremonial military teams rehearse for the presidential inauguration in Washington. Getty Images / AFP

What happens at the swearing-in ceremony? A guide to Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20


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Donald Trump will be sworn in on Monday as US president, in a time-honoured ceremony that will officially herald the beginning of his second term in the White House.

Here, The National takes a look at what happens during the inauguration.

Inauguration Day schedule

The day a new president is inaugurated is a time for major celebrations, with events held over four days, beginning on Saturday. Events include a fireworks display, several dinners honouring the new president and vice president, and a “Maga [Make America Great Again] Victory Rally”, according to Mr Trump's transition team.

Inauguration Day, January 20, will begin with a service at St John’s Church, followed by tea at the White House. St John's sits opposite the White House, so Mr Trump and his retinue will not be spending much time in the bitter Washington cold.

After tea, Mr Trump and vice president-designate JD Vance will head to the US Capitol, where they are expected to be sworn in at noon, in keeping with rules laid out in the Constitution.

After the swearing-in ceremony is the official farewell for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and a departure ceremony, after which Mr Trump will head to the President's Room near the Senate chambers, where he is expected to sign a series of nominations.

Then Mr Trump will attend a luncheon at the Capitol, after which he will review troops in the presidential parade.

He will then participate in a signing ceremony at the White House. Three inaugural balls are on the schedule: the Commander in Chief Ball, the Liberty Inaugural Ball and the Starlight Ball.

Country singers Carrie Underwood and Parker McCollum, singer Kid Rock, country group Rascal Flatts disco group The Village People and tenor Christopher Macchio are scheduled to perform during this year's swearing-in ceremony, the rally and balls.

What will Donald Trump say at the swearing-in ceremony?

The vice president-elect is sworn in first and gives the same oath of office, in use since 1884, as members of Congress and federal employees: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

At about noon, the president-elect recites the following oath, in keeping with Article II, Section I of the US Constitution: “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.”

The president-elect and vice-president elect may choose to make their oath while placing their hand on a Bible, though not all have chosen to do so. Mr Trump is then expected to give his inaugural address.

Trump inauguration 2025


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Where does the signing ceremony take place?

The first official actions taken by the newly sworn-in president take place in the President’s Room, off the Senate Chamber in the US Capitol.

After the departure of the former president and first lady, the new president gathers there with aides and members of Congress to sign nominations and sometimes memorandums, proclamations or executive orders, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCIC).

The tradition began in 1981, with President Ronald Reagan. Before then, nominations were often submitted to the Senate on Inauguration Day without ceremony.

What is the pass-in-review?

After the conclusion of the inaugural ceremonies and the luncheon is the parade. Typically, the new president and vice president make their way to the east front steps of the Capitol, where they review military troops before leading a procession of ceremonial military regiments, citizens’ groups, marching bands and floats on Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, according to the JCIC.

But this year, due to extreme temperatures, the parade will take place at Capitol One Arena, where Mr Trump is expected to review the troops and groups participating.

Thousands of people are expected to descend on Washington for the parade and roads around the route will be closed off to traffic.

Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

Company profile

Company name: Suraasa

Started: 2018

Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker

Based: India, UAE and the UK

Industry: EdTech

Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali

Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000

Engine 6.2L V8

Transmission Eight-speed automatic

Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm

Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm

Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

While you're here
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

WWE Super ShowDown results

Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title

Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship

Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns

Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party

Randy Orton beats Triple H

Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley

Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal

The Undertaker beat Goldberg

 

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Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records

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Andor
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Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Results

Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45

Simran

Director Hansal Mehta

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey

Three stars

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
  • Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
  • Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.

Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80

Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: January 17, 2025, 6:00 PM`