Jan. 20 (UPI) — President Donald Trump signed a series of executive actions before an estimated 20,000 supporters at an indoor inaugural parade Monday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., after he was sworn in earlier as the 47th president of the United States inside the U.S. Capitol rotunda amid bitter cold weather outside.
The eight executive directives and orders Trump signed: Recision of 78 Biden executive actions.Regulatory freeze on bureaucratic action until the full Trump administration is in place.Freeze on all federal hiring except for the military until the full administration is achieved. Requirement that federal workers return to full in-house work immediately.Directive to every agency to address the cost-of-living crisis affecting Americans.Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty.Directive to the federal government to prevent censorship of free speech.Directive to the federal government to end the weaponization of the government against political adversaries.
Trump signed each executive action from a desk on stage and held each signature up to the crowd to loud cheers. Trump then tossed his signing pens to supporters, as he promised to sign a lot more executive actions later from the Oval Office at the White House.
Earlier, Trump entered the arena with his signature dance move and fist pumps to the chants of “USA, USA, USA.” Trump, Vice President JD Vance and their families took their seats to watch marching bands and other performers parade inside the arena.
Event participants
Among the parade members were Butler County sheriff’s deputies, fire officials, emergency services and hospital staff from Pennsylvania who honored Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the July assassination attempt on Trump.
The families of American and Israeli hostages, including those who have lost children and loved ones, also attended the ceremony and were scheduled to meet with President Trump later Monday night. The family members, who were wearing yellow scarves, were brought up on stage to greet the new administration.
“Thank you to Steve Witkoff. He’s a great negotiator. A tremendous power of persuasion,” Trump said, as he started speaking to the crowd. “Welcome home to the former hostages. The three young ladies and more coming home every day now. This should never have happened.
“So, now the work begins,” Trump said. “Tonight, I am going to be signing the January 6 hostages pardons to get them out. I’m signing the release of the J-6 hostages.”
“You are witnessing the dawn of the Golden Age of America,” Trump proclaimed. “Even though we are indoors, we have had an incredible inaugural parade.”
“I’m about to sign some very important executive orders of our new administration,” Trump announced. “I will implement an immediate regulation freeze to stop Biden bureaucrats. And we will pause the hiring of any new IRS agents and ordering all federal workers to return to the office.”
“We are restoring our government control to the people. So no tax on tips!” Trump said. “Next I’m going to sign a directive to defeat inflation and rapidly bring down the cost of daily life.”
“To reduce energy costs and liberate our economy, I’m immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided Paris Accords rip-off,” Trump said. “The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity.”
“We are bringing back free speech, starting today,” Trump added. “And to stop the weaponization of law enforcement. Every single day I’d get subpoenas. They investigated their political opponent.”
“I will also sign an order directing every federal agency to preserve all records pertaining to political persecutions under the last administration, of which there were many, and beginning the process of exposing any and all abuses of power, even though he’s pardoned many of these people,” Trump announced.
Musk riles up crowd
Earlier, thousands braved the cold to wait hours to get inside the arena or line the route that Trump’s motorcade took to Capital One, where dozens of speakers — including Elon Musk — had fired up the crowd before his arrival.
“I’m super fired up!” Musk said. “I can’t wait. This is going to be fantastic.”
“This is what victory feels like!” Musk, who will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, exclaimed as he pumped his fists in the air before the roaring crowd. “And this was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization.”
“There are elections that come and go. Some are important, some are not. This one matters. Thank you for making it happen,” Musk said. “It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured.”
“We’re going to have safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending, basic stuff,” Musk, who also founded SpaceX, added. “And we’re going to take DOGE to Mars!”
“How awesome it will be to have American astronauts plant the flag on another planet for the first time? Yeah!” Musk exclaimed. “How inspiring that would be?”
Vivek Ramaswamy, who was tapped by Trump to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency with Musk, is reported to be leaving his leadership role at DOGE to run for governor of Ohio, according to CNN and Politico. Ramaswamy is expected to kick off his gubernatorial bid next week.
Other headline speakers, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, celebrated the future and a return to America’s “golden age.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, we stand here on the dawn of a new age, where life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are available to every American.”
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