President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J. D. Vance are weeks apart from being sworn into office, beginning a second Trump administration after a traditional 2024 vote victory against Vice President Kamala Harris.
From the lead-up to the annual meeting to the start of Trump’s president, here’s all you need to know about the 2025 political opening:
Ramped-up surveillance in DC
Four years after a , turbulent riot , interrupted , Congress‘s documentation of the 2020 presidential election, legislation police made several changes to secure the Capitol for the Jan. 6 documentation and political opening.
Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, said the 2025 opening will appear under a “higher risk culture” than the last opening and that there is a” significantly more robust safety plan”.
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Trump’s record-breaking annual account
After Trump supporters , stormed the Capitol , in 2021 in an attempt to reverse the effects of the 2020 election, many businesses paused gifts and political efforts to companies associated with Trump or any senator who voted against documentation.
However, that outlook has changed, and business leaders are working to rebuild relationships with the incoming president, who is expected to have major effects on their companies ‘ futures.
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Big Tech leaders embrace Trump’s return to office
Big Tech has been one of Trump’s biggest long-term rivals. However, during the 2024 election cycle, several key figures — , most notably, Elon Musk — started to warm to him, with the trend intensifying after his victory.
A number of Big Tech CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, have signaled a warming up to Trump as he prepares to take office again.
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What to expect on Jan. 20
Washington is getting ready to host the president-elect and vice president-elect, along with what’s expected to be hundreds of thousands of attendees, for a weekend of inauguration festivities.
On Sunday, Trump is holding a final MAGA rally to celebrate his victory in the 2024 election. In honor of Trump’s swearing-in, there will be several other unofficial celebrations in the district in addition to the three inaugural balls on Monday.
A number of well-known musicians and guests have made it known that they will attend the gatherings.
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What else to expect on Jan. 20
Aside from the inauguration, several events will take place on Jan. 20.
Flags flying at half-staff in honor of former president Jimmy Carter, who passed away in December at the age of 100, are still flying in honor of him, though some will be raised to full-staff in honor of Trump.
The 2025 College Football , Playoff National , Championship is also slated for Jan. 20. This year, the University of Notre Dame will face off against The Ohio State University, which happens to be Vance’s alma mater. Vince jokingly pleaded for the game to be postponed because of his scheduling conflict.
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Who is attending the inauguration
After winning the 2024 election, the president-elect invited several world leaders to a presidential inauguration in the United States, breaking tradition.
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How Democrats are responding
Democrats  are prepared to protest Trump in Washington ahead of and during the festivities, though their opposition is less muted compared to the reactions to his 2017 election victory.
The Left’s lackluster resistance comes as it grapples with how to respond to Trump’s reelection, with Molly Murphy, a pollster for Harris’s failed presidential campaign, telling Democratic National Committee members last month that” the 2025 playbook cannot be the 2017 playbook”.
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Confirmation hearings for Cabinet nominees
In the days leading up to the president-elect’s inauguration, Senate confirmation hearings took place on Capitol Hill, including confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and confirmation hearing for defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth.
However, while Senate Majority Leader , John Thune (R-SD )  , is under pressure to get most of Trump’s nominees ready for a vote by the time he is sworn in or shortly thereafter, various holdups could get in the way of that time frame.
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Trump’s first day back in the White House
Trump , and his advisers told , Republican , senators that the incoming administration is working on 100 executive orders that will be enacted once Trump is sworn into office. The orders will focus on , immigration, a topic Trump was adamant about fixing while campaigning for the presidency.
Trump has also made a number of other commitments regarding what he will accomplish once he has returned to the White House.
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Capitol Hill Republicans ready to enact Trump’s agenda
With unified control of Washington, Republicans now have a fresh chance to reverse their fortunes and have already promised a , sweeping rollback , of Biden’s regulatory agenda.
However, it will be difficult to prioritize a small number of issues for the Senate floor:
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