January 18, 2025 - Presidential transition news

We’ve wrapped up our live coverage for the day. Read below to catch up on today’s coverage of the Trump presidential transition.

President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and family watch fireworks at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Saturday.

President-elect Donald Trump and incoming first lady Melania Trump watched a fireworks display at the Trump National Golf Club outside of Washington, DC, on Saturday night.

The Trumps occasionally leaned in to speak to each other as they watched the fireworks and listened to a performance by singer Christopher Macchio. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump and other members of the Trump family were also in attendance.

The family watched the fireworks at the golf club in Sterling, Virginia, as part of the inauguration festivities for the incoming president. Trump is set to hold a rally at Capitol One Arena in Washington on Sunday, the eve of his swearing-in.

President-elect Donald Trump attends Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix on December 22, 2024.

Donald Trump has privately told his advisers he wants to visit China after being sworn in to office, three sources familiar with the talks told CNN, as the president-elect seeks to facilitate an open dialogue with Beijing while also pursuing hardline policy against the country.

Trump has expressed interest in visiting several countries once president, two of the sources said, including India to meet with the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, with whom he has long had a warm relationship with.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Trump telling advisers he wants to travel to China.

Trump, who campaigned on aggressively targeting China through tariffs and other measures, spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. The two discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok, among other issues, the president-elect said. Trump also invited Xi to attend his inauguration on Monday, but China is instead sending Vice President Han Zheng.

Then-President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in 2017.

Trump has long argued that US presidents should speak directly with its foreign adversaries, often boasting on the campaign trail that he had great relationships with leaders such as Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Does that mean that we’re going to be buddy buddy? No, not at all. If anything, it means that President Trump can be tougher directly with them,” Miller said.

Trump “sees his relationship with the Chinese president as a stand-in for the American relationship with Beijing,” one outside adviser told CNN, pointing to Trump’s efforts during his first term to cultivate a relationship with Xi.

Incoming White House communications director Jason Miller told CNN on Saturday that President-elect Donald Trump is expected to “take immediate action” on his campaign promises shortly after he is sworn in as the 47th commander in chief.

Miller said Trump’s immediate immigration response will target people who have been “processed and approved to be deported but it hasn’t been done yet,” along with criminals.

Miller also said Trump will announce “very important things that go to the deregulation efforts to make sure we can get our energy production up.”

Asked about Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attending the inauguration — the first time a senior Chinese official will attend the ceremony — Miller said, “You have to have that dialogue.”

“I think a lot of foreign leaders, a lot of foreign governments, quite frankly just didn’t respect Joe Biden or his administration the way that they did when President Trump was in office,” Miller said.

Addressing reports that Trump could delay the shutdown of TikTok, which is expected to go dark Sunday, Miller said the president-elect “wants to make good and find a way” after gaining support in the election from young voters, who make up the majority of the app’s users.

Preparations are made for Donald Trump’s inauguration at the US Capitol on Friday.

Much of the planning for Donald Trump’s inauguration is still underway, after it was announced Friday that the events would be moved inside due to dangerously cold conditions.

Members of the public will still be allowed to catch a glimpse of Trump’s motorcade traveling to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue Monday, officials said in a call with reporters Saturday, but many other key details are still being ironed out.

Members of the Inauguration Joint Public Information Center — which includes the Secret Service, DC Police and other agencies — were unable to answer specific questions about how individuals who planned to attend the rally will be able to watch the inauguration and following event with Trump Capital One Arena.

When asked how the more than 200,000 individuals with tickets to attend the inauguration will find a seat at the arena, which holds just over 20,000, the center referred reporters to the Presidential Inauguration Committee, saying those details are not yet available.

One member of the center told CNN there is a security plan in place to handle any overflow of people who are unable to get into the arena when it reaches capacity, but wouldn’t elaborate.

Trump announced Friday on social media that the arena would hold the presidential parade. Members of the center said people will be able to line up on Pennsylvania Avenue to watch Trump’s motorcade travel from the arena to the White House.

The motorcade, however, will not be in parade formation — it will simply be transporting Trump.

The change in plans means the perimeter established with anti-scalable fencing and other blockades will be limited, with additional fencing being placed around the arena on Sunday, and final security installations going up Monday morning.

President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and their son Barron board a US Air Force aircraft en route to Dulles, Virginia, on Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida.

President-elect Donald Trump boarded a plane in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday and departed for the Washington, DC, area ahead of his inauguration as president on Monday.

Trump boarded the US government plane at Palm Beach International Airport at 4:34 p.m. ET, alongside his wife Melania and their son Barron.

Trump plans to rally with supporters Sunday at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington. The venue will also stream the inauguration for a crowd Monday, now that the ceremony has been moved inside due to dangerously cold weather.

This post has been updated to reflect that Trump has now departed.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is joining with major Republican donors to help host a reception Monday night — part of the swirl of unofficial activities celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration, a person familiar with the event’s planning confirmed.

Zuckerberg is joining Miriam Adelson, the billionaire widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and a major Trump donor, and Todd Ricketts, a longtime Trump supporter and co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, to host the gathering.

Zuckerberg is one of several tech leaders expected to have a prominent presence at Monday’s inaugural events, as he and others in the industry seek to forge closer ties with the incoming president. Meta has donated $1 million to support Trump’s inaugural committee, which has attracted record sums.

The reception was described as a private gathering before the evening’s three official balls. Trump is not expected to attend the reception, which was first reported by Puck.

Adelson contributed $100 million to a super PAC that worked to elect Trump last year and is listed on fundraising documents as one of the inaugural committee’s finance co-chairs.

A person walks amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 9.

President-elect Donald Trump said he is “probably” going to visit the Los Angeles area next week to survey wildfire damage after he returns to office on Monday. He also said he plans to call on California to distribute water from the northern part of the state to the affected areas in Southern California.

Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Saturday he may travel to California “at the end of the week,” acknowledging he wanted to go on Friday but decided to wait until he had been inaugurated.

“We’re going to be demanding that the water be released from the north into the lower parts of California,” he added.

Trump said he has not spoken to California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom since the outbreak of the wildfires.

Previewing executive orders: The president-elect also pledged to sign a “record-setting number” of executive actions on his first day in office on Monday. When asked if he will sign “more than 100” actions, Trump replied it will be “at least in that category.”

Indoors inauguration: Trump spoke about his decision to move his inauguration ceremony inside amid freezing temperatures forecast in Washington, DC on Monday. He said he believes he made “the right decision” and promised the ceremony is “going to be beautiful, actually.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump.

President-elect Donald Trump said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “keep doing what has to be done” while emphasizing his desire to see the war between Israel and Hamas end. He again warned that “all hell will break out” if both parties do not uphold the ceasefire-hostage agreement.

Trump told NBC News in a phone interview on Saturday he plans to meet with Netanyahu “fairly shortly” but declined to share more details about a possible meeting. He said he told Netanyahu “this has to end” but that he should “just keeping doing what you have to do.”

When asked if he was confident hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza would be released as part of the agreement, Trump said, “Well, we’re going to see very soon, and it better hold.” He added that the US will demand “respect” to ensure the agreement will be observed and warned of consequences if it does not hold.

Trump’s incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz and his incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff worked alongside the Biden administration in helping facilitate the ceasefire agreement, which is expected to go into effect tomorrow.

Protesters gathered outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on Saturday to protest the policies of President-elect Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration next week.

Many in the crowd held protest signs, including Linda Hurley from Maryland. Hurley’s sign read: “Fight to protect civil rights for all and our planet.”

She described Trump as a “fascist, felon, liar, indecent human being,” but said she hopes protesting his presidency will give people hope and energize them to speak up.

Miriam Lawrence Leupold, a pastor from Albany, New York, said she’s in the nation’s capital to make her concerns about Trump’s potential impact on minority groups heard. Leupold also visited DC eight years ago when Trump first took office.

Rev. Laura Harbaugh and Rev. Margaret Brack, who are from Episcopal churches in Maryland, expressed concern for minority groups.

“We are going to be working with and for the people that the Trump cabinet and presidency is going to be affecting, I’m talking about immigrants, LGBTQ and healthcare workers,” Harbaugh said.

President-elect Donald Trump said his administration is planning on executing mass deportations of undocumented immigrants “very quickly” after he takes office, reiterating his desire to “get the criminals out of our country” as a policy priority.

Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News on Saturday he expects deportations of immigrants who entered the country illegally to “begin very early, very quickly” but would not say which cities would be targeted by his administration at first.

“We have to get the criminals out of our country. And I think you would agree with that. I don’t know how anyone could not agree,” he continued.

Trump has long previewed plans for mass deportations of immigrants dating back to the early days of his presidential campaign. But in the weeks leading up to his inauguration, Trump and his advisers have suggested the administration could start within days of Trump taking office, with an eye toward some large cities.

CNN has previously reported the Trump administration will focus at first on deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds in major metropolitan areas like Chicago, Denver and Washington, DC.

Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks in Council Bluffs, Iowa in January 2024.

Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered state public safety and corrections officials to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities, just days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated for a second term as president.

In a memo Friday to the leaders of the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Department of Corrections, the Republican governor mandated that state agencies must assist with administrative or criminal investigations, contact federal authorities when they suspect immigration law violations, and honor detainer requests from the Department of Homeland Security. The directive also requires state agencies to facilitate custody transfers to immigration authorities.

Expected executive orders: The move aligns with the incoming Trump administration’s expected hardline stance on immigration, as Trump has pledged to deport all individuals living in the country without documentation.

CNN reported Friday that Trump’s team is finalizing an aggressive slate of immigration executive orders that are expected to be released only hours after the president-elect is sworn in, kicking off an immigration crackdown that will have implications for people nationwide, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.

The planning includes US Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in major metropolitan areas, sending more Pentagon resources to the US southern border, placing additional restrictions on who is eligible to enter the US, along with rolling back Biden-era policies.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin questions Pete Hegseth during Hegseth's confirmation hearing in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin defended secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth while acknowledging he “isn’t without fault” during a Saturday CNN interview.

When asked if he is confident Hegseth will be confirmed, despite various allegations against him including infidelity, alcohol use and sexual misconduct, Mullin replied, “Here’s a guy that isn’t without fault, but he’s admitted he’s made a mistake. And when you can admit you made a mistake … you can grow from it.”

Mullin said that there is value in how Hegseth has “owned up to his past” but also admitted that Hegseth has repeatedly denied the claims against him.

Mullin also affirmed President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to move Monday’s inauguration ceremony indoors due to the cold weather.

“I hate it that the American people aren’t going to see the traditional swearing-in, but I think the president has put the right position forward by keeping people safe, but still invite them to come in,” he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon in October 2024.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, her office announced on Saturday.

In an agenda entry posted on the Italian government’s website, it says that Meloni will be at the ceremony at 12 p.m. ET at the Capitol.

Meloni will be just one of Europe’s populist figures to attend the inauguration. Britain’s Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform party, will also be at the ceremony, he told USA Today recently.

Vice President Kamala Harris embraces President Joe Biden prior to speaking at a holiday reception in Washington, DC on December 15.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris expressed their appreciation to thousands of political appointees serving their administration — and to each other — on Saturday.

Roughly 4,000 political appointees across all aspects of federal government will be leaving their jobs on Monday as President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Biden later offered a charge to the appointees to stay engaged, according to audio of the call obtained by CNN.

He added, “We’re leaving office — we can’t leave the fight. You’re smart, you’re skilled, you’re passionate, you’re decent, you’re concerned about people — the country will need you again. So please stay engaged.”

President-elect Donald Trump attends Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix in December 2024.

President-elect Donald Trump said he will “most likely” delay a ban on TikTok for 90 days after he takes office on Monday, but noted he has not made a final decision in an interview with NBC News on Saturday.

Trump said it would be “appropriate” to approve an extension for the Chinese-owned social media platform that was banned in a bipartisan law passed last year and upheld by the Supreme Court this week.

“If I decide to do that, I’ll probably announce it on Monday,” he added.

CNN has reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment.

Without an extension, TikTok is set to go offline on Sunday. The law passed last year allows the president to delay the ban from going into effect by 90 days but requires evidence that parties working to arrange a sale of TikTok to a US-owned company have made significant progress.

TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew has met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in the weeks leading up to the ban taking effect, and he is also expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks after meeting with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris, on January 8.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has concerns about President-elect Donald Trump’s administration maintaining international relations that he says the Biden administration strengthened over the last four years.

He also defended the more than $65 billion in aid the Biden administration has given to Ukraine since its war with Russia began in late February 2022. Blinken said the US making an “investment in allies and partners” ultimately “enabled us to bring so many countries together in defense of Ukraine.”

More on the transition: NATO allies have been bracing for US support for Ukraine to shrink over the next year. Trump has questioned the value of aid to Ukraine and the US commitment to NATO, and while he has said he wants to end the war, he has not yet weighed in on whether his administration will continue providing military assistance to Ukraine.

Ahead of the imminent transfer of power, the US has worked to transition aid to Ukraine from a US-led effort to a NATO-led mechanism, in part to “Trump-proof” the assistance, CNN has reported.

Movers load trucks at the White House grounds on Saturday.

Transition is afoot at the White House today.

CNN has observed movers outside the West Wing placing items — including multiple tables, framed photographs and art, and chairs — into a moving van parked on West Executive Drive. Ladders and cardboard boxes, meanwhile, were moved inside.

Many artifacts and pieces of furniture in the West Wing are on loan from the official White House Collection and are part of a documented process wherein thousands of pieces of art, decorations, sculpture, china, silver and other items are historically preserved. When it is time to move out, there is a systematic return of the loaned items to the White House Historical Association, which, along with the chief usher and curator of the White House, collects the items.

A majority of Biden White House staffers have already sent farewell notes and turned in their phones and laptops, with a small handful of close aides remaining logged in through the weekend and Monday.

The big White House move, of course, won’t take place until Monday, when about 95 members of the residence staff transform the residence from one first family to the next.

The White House took issue with a Friday night statement from TikTok warning that the popular app would go dark if President Joe Biden does not intervene in the matter, calling TikTok’s move a “stunt.”

“We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok. It is a stunt, and we see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump Administration takes office on Monday,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement to CNN.

CNN reached out to TikTok Saturday about the White House statement, but a spokesperson for the app declined to comment.

How we got here: Under a law signed by Biden in April, ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, was required to sell the app to American ownership by Sunday, January 19. ByteDance made no significant progress toward doing so.

The Biden administration contends, due to timing — since Sunday falls on a federal holiday weekend and Biden leaves office just hours later — that the decision on enforcing a ban upheld by the Supreme Court will fall to the next administration.

Even though some Democratic lawmakers have been pressuring Biden to delay enforcement of the law, White House officials have previously said they don’t believe the president has the authority to do so.

One White House source has told CNN there will not be any fines by the Biden administration associated with keeping TikTok active in the meantime, including potential penalties on service providers like Apple and Google that could continue to provide the app to users.

CNN’s Brian Stelter contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference on January 7 in Palm Beach, Florida.

President-elect Donald Trump announced the launch of a new meme coin just days before his inauguration, the latest money-making venture capitalizing on his name and political comeback.

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE!” Trump posted Friday night on X along with a link to a website with instructions to purchase the coin. “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!”

The website describes it as “fungible crypto assets created and tracked on the Solana blockchain.” It will be sold under the symbol $TRUMP. According to the site, 200 million $TRUMP coins will be available immediately with plans to release a total of one billion coins within three years — all while Trump is in the White House.

Some context: Meme coins, a class of highly volatile cryptocurrencies, often derive their branding from internet trends and cultural phenomena. Among the most well-known is Dogecoin, a digital token featuring the image of a Shiba Inu, originally created as a parody of the cryptocurrency boom. Despite its satirical origins, Dogecoin surged in value, fueled in part by public endorsements from billionaire Elon Musk. The token’s ticker symbol, $DOGE, has now served as the inspiration for the Department of Government Efficiency, a newly formed commission that Musk will lead to identify potential cuts in federal spending and regulations.

A disclosure in fine print at the bottom of the Trump Meme website makes clear the coins “are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.” The company behind the venture is Fight Fight Fight LLC, a corporation registered in Delaware earlier this month.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the number of coins that will be available at release. It is 200 million coins.