President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris sworn in

The 2021 Inauguration has occurred and the new President and Vice President of The United States have been sworn into office. Photo by Harry Wyman | The Signal

The inauguration is the formal ceremony that marks the start of a new presidency and shows Americans the peaceful transfer of power.

In normal circumstances, the inauguration would see hundreds of thousands of people crowding around to enter the city, hotels completely booked and security everywhere.

This year, due to COVID-19 regulations, that didn’t happen. 

Joe Biden’s team limited the number of people at the event to reduce the number of people potentially catching the coronavirus.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20 at around 11:30 p.m. Harris made history by becoming the first Black female vice president of South Asian descent.

President Biden is still pushing his aggressive first 100 days in office agenda with signing multiple executive orders on Friday, his first full day in office. His first executive orders include actions to impose a mask mandate on federal property and rejoin the Paris Agreement.

President Biden also spoke of his first 10 days in office, which will roll back key policies established by his predecessor

He pointed out multiple crises the country is now facing, including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and racial inequality.

“There are moments in our history when more is asked of us as Americans,” Biden said, who also unveiled a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. that now sits in the Oval Office. “We are in one of those moments now,” he said. 

Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were in attendance, even coming together to create a video message for their successor and all Americans.

“That us three presidents, two Democrats and a Republican, could come together is a sign that Americans can overcome anything if they work together,” the three said in the video. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump was not in attendance, making him the first president in 150 years to miss his successor’s inauguration.