Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the Food and Drug Administration a “corrupt system” that is waging “war on public health.” He has pledged to eliminate “entire departments” at the agency charged with ensuring the safety of the foods Americans eat and the medicines we take, warning the more than 18,000 people who work there to “pack your bags.”

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Kennedy to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If he is confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will have the opportunity to “go wild” on health, foods and medicines, as Trump put it during the campaign.

Remaking the FDA may not be as straightforward — or as desirable — as it seems from the outside, says Dr. Robert Califf. He’s in a position to know: His second stint as the agency’s commissioner came to an end Monday.

Califf’s career has spanned academia, large health systems, the biotech industry, Silicon Valley and the highest echelons of the federal government. His colleagues at the FDA “work just as hard and are at least as smart” as people he’s worked with anywhere else, he said. Public criticism comes with the territory, but things look different when you’re on the inside trying to ensure access to infant formula, make tobacco products less addictive and help consumers understand what’s in their groceries.

Califf spoke to a group of reporters last week on his last day in the FDA’s White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Md. Here’s his advice to those who will take over public health roles in the incoming Trump administration. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.

What do you wish people understood about your job?

This is a job that has a lot of bosses and a lot of constraints. When you’re in the commissioner’s office at FDA, you report to the executive branch. But Congress also thinks it’s your boss. It’s not unheard of for FDA to want to do something and get a message from an important appropriator that, “If you do this, we’re going to cut your budget somewhere else.”

It’s really interesting to me that people think the FDA can just declare this and that. It usually can’t. It usually has to go through a systematic approach. The minute you step beyond the legal boundaries of what the rule book says, you’re going to end up in court. That will get reined in fairly quickly.

How do you expect the new administration to change the FDA?

I have no idea. Right now we have rhetoric, and the rhetoric is contradictory. We just have to wait and see.

Some of the people who have been nominated to positions have been very critical, implying that there are nefarious motives of people working in public heath agencies. It feels a lot different when you have to make the decision and be accountable for it as opposed to criticizing the decision.

I have a copy of [President Theodore] Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech above my desk at home to remind myself every day that you get all this criticism from people who are not actually doing the work. It’s better to be in the arena trying to do the best that you can do.

Kennedy says he wants to get rid of certain departments within FDA. Are there areas you’re most worried about?

I’m worried about every part of the FDA. I don’t think you’ll find people at FDA doing work that no one cares about.

If you look at the food side of the FDA and the inspectorate, it’s massively underfunded. If you cut that — especially if you’re also saying we need to radically change the food system — that would be a problem.

Kennedy wants to see big changes in the food and health industries. Is that realistic?

Slogans are easy, and they sound really tough, but it’s a little different when you get into the to-and-fro. The lobbies that have very much created this food system are powerful. Maybe they can be overcome. There’s a possibility that things could be done for public health that couldn’t be done before.

The other part of this is if you really want to change the food system, you’d better have a 10- or 20-year plan. If you pronounced today, “No ultra-processed foods in SNAP or other federally assisted programs,” the farming industry would crash. I’m not saying that’s a reason to keep it the way it is. What I am saying is you’d better have a very carefully thought-out plan which sustains the economy, not just a bunch of slogans.

Trump said he would investigate claims about vaccines and autism. How should the FDA respond?

Anyone that investigates this will find that the risks and benefits are already delineated. There are dozens of studies that show no relationship between vaccination and autism. It wouldn’t be where I would spend my time, but if he wanted to do it, I think he’ll find that things are already well-documented.

That doesn’t mean that post-market surveillance couldn’t be better. It’s not a great way to have things that every time a question needs to be answered for public health, you need to get permission from every state and territory.

But I don’t think people are going to find any surprises. It’s all out there. For there to be any kind of conspiracy, it would take a whole lot of people outside of government deciding to work together. I’ve lived in America my whole life. It’s hard to get anybody to work together on things.

You’ve called misinformation a leading cause of death. Is it getting better or worse?

We’re losing the battle on misinformation. I’m not talking specifically about FDA. I’m talking about all of us.

To me it’s very clear that a lot of people died who would not have died had they just gotten a free COVID vaccine, and had they not been misled or been made to feel doubtful by people peddling incorrect information.

Often people who are experts in one area have opinions about another area, then when someone disagrees they call it misinformation. It’s a lot easier to put out a slogan or to make something up than it is to worry about whether you’ve got it right and take the time and effort to go to sources and get the right information.

We’re losing the battle right now because of this intersection of social media and cultural changes that have happened. It threatens a lot of the basis for public health. We’ve got to create networks of people who are dedicated to the truth.

What advice do you have for the new health leadership?

Change doesn’t come so easily in government. If we move at least five people, it has to get a congressional review. This makes it really hard.

When possible, use evidence for decision-making. I’ve heard a lot of tweets and short social media things saying, “We’re going to do this, we’re going to do that.” Let’s see the evidence about what an effective treatment is, and then if it’s good, go with it.

Those are my two main pieces of advice.

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Monday joined 17 other presidents in delivering a second inaugural address. A review of those 17 previous speeches shows some common themes, such as American idealism, the testing of democratic institutions, war, the economy and immigration, but also reveals idiosyncratic musings on adversaries in the press, graphic retelling of violence and, perhaps, even a bit of conversation across the ages among this elite fraternity of political leaders.

Hat tip to the American Presidency Project at the University of California Santa Barbara, which compiles and posts presidential documents like those that follow.

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“I am again called upon by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate. When the occasion proper for it shall arrive, I shall endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this distinguished honor, and of the confidence which has been reposed in me by the people of united America.”

– George Washington, March 4, 1793

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“During this course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been leveled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety.”

– Thomas Jefferson, March 4, 1805

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“They have not, it is true, taken into their own hands the hatchet and the knife, devoted to indiscriminate massacre, but they have let loose the savages armed with these cruel instruments; have allured them into their service, and carried them to battle by their sides, eager to glut their savage thirst with the blood of the vanquished and to finish the work of torture and death on maimed and defenseless captives. And, what was never before seen, British commanders have extorted victory over the unconquerable valor of our troops by presenting to the sympathy of their chief captives awaiting massacre from their savage associates.”

– James Madison, March 4, 1813

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“In our whole system, national and State, we have shunned all the defects which unceasingly preyed on the vitals and destroyed the ancient Republics. In them there were distinct orders, a nobility and a people, or the people governed in one assembly. Thus, in the one instance there was a perpetual conflict between the orders in society for the ascendency, in which the victory of either terminated in the overthrow of the government and the ruin of the state; in the other, in which the people governed in a body, and whose dominions seldom exceeded the dimensions of a county in one of our States, a tumultuous and disorderly movement permitted only a transitory existence. In this great nation there is but one order, that of the people, whose power, by a peculiarly happy improvement of the representative principle, is transferred from them, without impairing in the slightest degree their sovereignty, to bodies of their own creation, and to persons elected by themselves, in the full extent necessary for all the purposes of free, enlightened and efficient government.”

– James Monroe, March 4, 1821

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“Constantly bearing in mind that in entering into society “individuals must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” it will be my desire so to discharge my duties as to foster with our brethren in all parts of the country a spirit of liberal concession and compromise, and, by reconciling our fellow-citizens to those partial sacrifices which they must unavoidably make for the preservation of a greater good, to recommend our invaluable Government and Union to the confidence and affections of the American people.”

– Andrew Jackson, March 4, 1833

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“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

– Abraham Lincoln, March 5, 1865

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“I did not ask for place or position, and was entirely without influence or the acquaintance of persons of influence, but was resolved to perform my part in a struggle threatening the very existence of the nation. I performed a conscientious duty, without asking promotion or command, and without a revengeful feeling toward any section or individual. Notwithstanding this, throughout the war, and from my candidacy for my present office in 1868 to the close of the last Presidential campaign, I have been the subject of abuse and slander scarcely ever equaled in political history, which to-day I feel that I can afford to disregard in view of your verdict, which I gratefully accept as my vindication.”

– Ulysses S. Grant, March 4, 1873

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“One mode of the misappropriation of public funds is avoided when appointments to office, instead of being the rewards of partisan activity, are awarded to those whose efficiency promises a fair return of work for the compensation paid to them. To secure the fitness and competency of appointees to office and remove from political action the demoralizing madness for spoils, civil-service reform has found a place in our public policy and laws. The benefits already gained through this instrumentality and the further usefulness it promises entitle it to the hearty support and encouragement of all who desire to see our public service well performed or who hope for the elevation of political sentiment and the purification of political methods.”

– Grover Cleveland, March 4, 1893

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“There are some national questions in the solution of which patriotism should exclude partisanship. Magnifying their difficulties will not take them off our hands nor facilitate their adjustment. Distrust of the capacity, integrity, and high purposes of the American people will not be an inspiring theme for future political contests. Dark pictures and gloomy forebodings are worse than useless. These only becloud, they do not help to point the way of safety and honor.”

– William McKinley, March 4, 1901

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“We are to beware of all men who would turn the tasks and the necessities of the nation to their own private profit or use them for the building up of private power.”

– Woodrow Wilson, March 5, 1917

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“Four years of new experience have not belied our historic instinct. They hold out the clear hope that government within communities, government within the separate States, and government of the United States can do the things the times require, without yielding its democracy. Our tasks in the last four years did not force democracy to take a holiday.”

– Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jan. 20, 1937

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“Yet this peace we seek cannot be born of fear alone: it must be rooted in the lives of nations. There must be justice, sensed and shared by all peoples, for, without justice the world can know only a tense and unstable truce. There must be law, steadily invoked and respected by all nations, for without law, the world promises only such meager justice as the pity of the strong upon the weak. But the law of which we speak, comprehending the values of freedom, affirms the equality of all nations, great and small.”

– Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jan. 21, 1957

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“That is why today I offer no promise of a purely governmental solution for every problem. We have lived too long with that false promise. In trusting too much in government, we have asked of it more than it can deliver. This leads only to inflated expectations, to reduced individual effort, and to a disappointment and frustration that erode confidence both in what government can do and in what people can do.”

– Richard M. Nixon, Jan. 20, 1973

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“History is a ribbon, always unfurling. History is a journey. And as we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us. We stand again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy — well, we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn’t gotten so cold.”

– Ronald Reagan, Jan. 21, 1985

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“The divide of race has been America’s constant curse. And each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and contempt cloaked in the pretense of religious or political conviction are no different. These forces have nearly destroyed our nation in the past. They plague us still. They fuel the fanaticism of terror. And they torment the lives of millions in fractured nations all around the world. These obsessions cripple both those who hate and of course those who are hated, robbing both of what they might become. We cannot, we will not, succumb to the dark impulses that lurk in the far regions of the soul everywhere. We shall overcome them. And we shall replace them with the generous spirit of a people who feel at home with one another. Our rich texture of racial, religious, and political diversity will be a godsend in the 21st century. Great rewards will come to those who can live together, learn together, work together, forge new ties that bind together.”

– Bill Clinton, Jan. 20, 1997

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“America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains or that women welcome humiliation and servitude or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies. We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America’s belief in human dignity will guide our policies. Yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators. They are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom and there can be no human rights without human liberty.”

– George W. Bush, Jan. 20, 2005

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“For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle or substitute spectacle for politics or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, we must act knowing that today’s victories will be only partial and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall. My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction.”

– Barack Obama, Jan. 21, 2013

©2025 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

WASHINGTON — Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden and other committee Democrats are pressing Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump’s intended nominee for Treasury secretary, to submit to an IRS audit and release his tax filings ahead of the panel’s vote on his nomination Tuesday.

The Oregon Democrat, along with Senate Banking ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., sent a letter Monday with the requests, citing reports on a confidential memo prepared by Finance Democratic staff raising issues with the hedge fund manager’s tax filings for the previous three years.

The memo accused the billionaire nominee of avoiding more than $900,000 in self-employment taxes, as well as claiming other deductions that Democratic staff deemed questionable. Senate Finance Chairman Michael D. Crapo, R-Idaho, along with a spokesperson for Trump’s transition team defended Bessent, saying he followed the law and handled his taxes in keeping with advice from major law and accounting firms.

In addition to releasing his tax filings and voluntarily submitting to an audit, the three Democrats asked Bessent to recuse himself from discussions or decisions at Treasury related to the tax issues identified by the staff memo. And they asked him to continue IRS enforcement initiatives focused on complex partnerships, big corporations and wealthy individuals. Those actions are needed to allow Bessent to “effectively” and “credibly” serve as Treasury secretary, they said in the letter.

The staff memo, which surfaced ahead of Bessent’s confirmation hearing, said the billionaire avoided more than $900,000 in Medicare taxes on income from his hedge fund, the Key Square Group. Bessent took the position that as a limited partner in the fund under state law, he was not liable for taxes on certain income earned through the fund, according to the memo.

His active involvement in the fund made that stance out of step with positions recently taken by the Treasury Department on the tax liability of limited partners, Democratic staff said in the memo. They also took issue with deductions that Bessent took related to losses in All Seasons Press, a right-leaning publishing house he owns.

During his confirmation hearing last week, Bessent said in response to a question from Whitehouse that the issue was subject to litigation but disputed the numbers cited by the Democratic staff memo, saying the amount in question was lower. The nominee said if confirmed he would wind down his hedge fund, set aside the amount under dispute and pay it if ordered to do so by the court.

While Democrats largely avoided the memo’s contents during Bessent’s hearing, Monday’s letter indicates some may still try to make an issue of it ahead of his confirmation.

The Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on Bessent’s nomination Tuesday morning, clearing the way for a quick confirmation vote on the floor. Wyden, Warren and Whitehouse asked Bessent to commit to their requests in writing ahead of the committee vote.

©2025 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

While some Democrats will be boycotting the event, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and the state’s all-Democratic Congressional delegation will be attending the ceremony that sends Trump back to the White House.

Although Lamont was a strong supporter of Democrat Joe Biden and the host of a political fundraiser for Biden as far back as 2019, he said he is traveling to Washington out of respect for the presidency. He will be one of only four Democratic governors in attendance.

“It’s a big crowd of four of us,” Lamont told The Courant. “I get down there Sunday evening and maybe see a couple of the guys. On Monday, we get picked up pretty early by the National Governors Association, and we go to the Capitol building. All the Republican governors and the four lonely Democrats will be in a green room for an hour and a half, waiting for the inauguration. For me, it’s a good chance to talk to these governors. I don’t see the Republicans quite as much as well, compare notes. It’s a sign of respect for the presidency.”

While groups of governors often meet with the president, Lamont said he did not know if they would meet on the busy inauguration day with Trump. In February, they will gather in a more formal setting at the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C. that traditionally includes meeting with the president.

Lamont will be in the nation’s capital for less than 24 hours, skipping the inaugural balls and returning on Monday afternoon.

“I’m not going to the parties,” Lamont said. “I’m not doing the parade. I’m not doing any of that. This is the inauguration and respect for the office of the presidency. … By the way, Republicans didn’t show up for Biden. It’s just absurd what’s going on, I think. Trump skipped Biden’s. It’s not brand new.”

Lamont noted that President John Adams skipped the inauguration of incoming President Thomas Jefferson more than two centuries ago in 1801.

Nationally known Democrats like former First Lady Michelle Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as AOC, will not be attending the ceremonies. In the same way, Trump did not attend Democrat Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2020.

But Connecticut’s entire all-Democratic Congressional delegation is expected to attend. That attendance will take place even though the state’s two U.S. senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, have raised numerous questions about Trump nominees to key positions, and the Congressional members have opposed various proposals by Trump.

Republicans

While some Democrats are boycotting the event, state Republican Chairman Ben Proto said that Lamont is making the correct move.

“I think he’s right,” Proto told The Courant. “This is not a partisan, political event. This is an event for America. This is the passing of power from one president to another. Whether you agree with Donald Trump or don’t agree with Donald Trump, he’s going to be president. … Whether you like the man or not, whether you voted for him or not, he’s it.”

Proto estimated there will be at least “a few hundred” Connecticut residents traveling to the festivities, including Republican National Committee members John Frey of Ridgefield and Annalisa Stravato of Wilton. Members of Congress received tickets to be distributed because Congress runs the swearing-in ceremony, but the demand far exceeded the supply.

While many pundits say America is as divided as ever, Proto maintains that the country was sharply divided in 2000 when Republican George W. Bush defeated Vice President Al Gore in a dispute that was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This is nothing new,” Proto said in an interview. “We’ve just found new ways to do it on social media. This has been going on since we created politics.”

After four years out of power, Republicans are highly excited about returning to the White House and hardcore Trump supporters have been scrambling for tickets to the top events.

“Getting ball tickets is crazy,” said West Hartford resident Joe Visconti, a longtime Trump supporter. “The Starlight Ball, the Liberty Ball, and the Commander in Chief Ball — Trump’s speaking at all three. He only did one the last time. I was there.”

A major difference, Visconti said, is that virtually all Republicans and many corporations have rallied around Trump and dropped their skepticism.

“What a reversal from 2017 when I went,” said Visconti, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Democrat John B. Larson in 2008 and for governor against Democrat Dannel P. Malloy in a three-way race in 2014.

In a blue state like Connecticut, Visconti said he and others were working “behind enemy lines” to support Trump in November’s election.

The 2024 election marked a sharp turnaround from the early days of 2021 when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an insurrection, leading to more than 1,500 arrests. At least 13 Connecticut residents were among those arrested.

“What a crazy world we live in,” Visconti said. “Four years ago at this time, I was waiting for the FBI to come to my house. Now, I’m going back” to Washington, D.C.

While Visconti was present for the rally on Jan. 6, 2021, he says that he never entered the U.S. Capitol building.

Visconti predicted that Trump will improve governmental operations during the coming four years.

“Donald Trump is going to do this cycle what he normally does when he buys property: gives it a facelift, changes the lobby, redecorates the rooms, makes it run more efficiently,” Visconti said. “But it’s still the U.S. government. He can really make it more efficient. It’s a good analogy.”

Democrats

While the Connecticut delegation will attend the inauguration, they are already making moves to block initiatives by Trump.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney of Vernon and others say they are looking for common ground but are ready to battle on conflicting points.

“I look forward to working with the incoming administration whenever and wherever possible to deliver the real-life results the people of eastern Connecticut expect,” Courtney said to The Courant. “I am bullish that the new administration will support my work in Congress to continue the recent growing investments in shipbuilding and our nation’s defense industrial base that, in Connecticut, tens of thousands of workers rely on for good-paying, family-supporting jobs. I am concerned, however, with President-elect Trump’s continued calls to usurp Congress’s ‘power of the purse.’ ”

U.S. Rep. John B. Larson of East Hartford says that Democrats are willing to negotiate with Trump where possible but would not compromise on core principles.

“These are challenging times, but where we can work together with the President-elect, we will,” Larson said following the election. “Where we are opposed on issues, from women’s reproductive rights to tax cuts for the wealthy, and expanding Social Security and Medicare, we are prepared to fight.”

U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Wolcott Democrat, is concerned about repeated statements that the U.S. Department of Education could be dismantled.

“Given the troubling rhetoric around public education from the incoming administration, it felt necessary that my first bill of the 119th Congress be to safeguard this federal pillar,” Hayes said in a statement. “I am leading the Department of Education Protection Act to impede any attempts to shrink federal education resources or restructure the agency. Instead of depleting the agency of its resources, we must invest in its ability to promote student achievement, foster education excellence, and ensure equal access.”

But Visconti discounted various statements about Trump’s views as overblown.

“People think he’s going to destroy the Department of Education with [incoming education secretary] Linda McMahon,” Visconti said. “No, they’re going to move money in a different way. That doesn’t mean education or money has to go. They need to take the federal regulations off. It’s kind of like what they did with abortion, throw it to the states.”

Frigid weather

Based on the weather forecast, Trump’s swearing-in has been moved indoors because it is expected to be the coldest inauguration in the past 40 years dating back to the days of the second term of President Ronald Reagan in 1985. That, too, was held indoors at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda as officials feared that it would be dangerously cold for those waiting outside for hours. Crowds can watch the festivities Monday from the nearby Capital One Arena that is the home for Georgetown University basketball games and other events.

“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said in announcing the new location. “It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th. (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!).”

The enthusiastic crowds will still likely gather on the National Mall, and those who have tickets will have the best seats at the Capitol Rotunda.

“I’ve got my big fur coat because it’s going to be 26 degrees for the high Monday,” said Visconti, adding that the wind-chill factor will make it worse. “The winds will be 10 to 20 miles per hour. When it gets cold in Washington, it’s like Connecticut. It’s going to be zero.”

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com 

WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office for the second time on Monday. Here’s what you need to know about his return to the White House.

When does Trump take office?

As set out in the Constitution, presidential terms begin and end at noon Jan. 20. In years when that date has fallen on a Sunday, public ceremonies have been moved to the following day.

In 2025, the date happens to be the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will take the oath of office, and Trump will deliver an address laying out his vision for the next four years.

In his 2017 inaugural, Trump vowed to end the “American carnage” of inner-city poverty, abandoned factories, widespread crime and a failing education system.

Where will the ceremony take place?

The ceremony is traditionally held on the west front of the U.S. Capitol. Trump announced on social media Friday that his address and other speeches will be delivered inside the building, in the Capitol rotunda.

Trump noted the wind chill is forecast to be dangerously low on Monday, threatening the health of first responders and supporters planning to attend.

“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said, adding that a Sunday indoor rally and inaugural balls will continue as planned.

When was the last time inauguration ceremonies moved inside?

That was 1985, when Ronald Reagan was starting his second term.

The weather in Washington was sunny that day but bitterly cold with a noon temperature of 7 degrees and wind chill temperatures well below zero.

The forecast high for Monday is in the low 20s with single-digit wind chills.

Trump’s first inauguration featured some brief sprinkles and relatively balmy conditions for January, with a noon temperature of 48 degrees.

What oath does the president take?

The Constitution spells out the precise wording of the oath required of presidents: “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.”

Chief Justice John Roberts stumbled while administering the oath to President Barack Obama at his 2009 inauguration, prompting Obama to also slightly mix up the words. The flub raised questions about the legitimacy of the swearing-in.

To remove any doubt, the pair quickly arranged a do-over in which they nailed their lines.

Where can I watch Trump’s inauguration?

The ceremony will be widely broadcast on over-the-air and cable networks. Livestreams will be available online. Amazon has committed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and plans to stream the event on its Prime Video platform, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Who will attend the ceremony?

Members of Congress, former presidents and other prominent political figures can be expected to surround Trump during the ceremony. Some congressional Democrats, including several from Texas, plan to skip the ceremony.

Trump invited other world leaders to attend the proceedings, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The relationship between the United States and China will have a significant impact on Trump’s second term as the two countries work through trade and national security conflicts. China announced Xi had declined the invitation but is sending a special representative.

Trump did not attend President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration.

Who’s paying for it?

The taxpayer-funded Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is responsible for the swearing-in ceremony and the luncheon that follows at the Capitol. Other events are handled by the president-elect’s inaugural committee, which can accept unlimited donations from corporations.

In addition to Amazon, other tech companies such as Meta have indicated they are making sizable donations to the committee.

How soon will Trump’s Cabinet be in place?

The Senate, which is now under Republican control, is responsible for confirming Trump’s nominees.

Senate committees have already held confirmation hearings for several of Trump’s Cabinet picks and could start voting on the highest priority positions, such as the secretaries of defense and state, as early as Monday afternoon.

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©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ announcement that he’s appointing Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio places the Tampa area native in an exotic locale far from home.

But if her personal history is any indication, she will attract notice in Washington as a hard-charging — and highly partisan — advocate for her home state.

“Every day I go to work, every decision that I make, every person I hire, I do so with the understanding that the people of Florida gave me this opportunity,” she said after Thursday’s announcement. “And I want to deliver on what I assured them.”

From Plant City’s Strawberry Queen, to a top university student, to a federal prosecutor, to a Hillsborough judge, to the state’s attorney general, this homegrown talent now finds herself on a national and global stage.

“She’s never forgotten where she’s from,” said former Hillsborough Chief Judge Ronald Ficarrotta, who worked alongside Moody in the judiciary. “I’m a Democrat, but I still have a great deal of respect for her.”

Ashley Brooke Moody was born in 1975 in Plant City. To know her is to know her hometown.

The small yet growing city about 25 miles east of Tampa is a place that relishes small-town values and its agrarian past. It’s known as the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World — a reference to the area’s biggest cash crop.

It is a place where the name Moody means a lot.

The Moody family goes back five generations in Plant City. Moreau Estes Moody opened a pharmacy there in 1891 and the city’s first bank in 1902. The family since then has included mayors, bank presidents and politicians.

Her father, James S. Moody Jr., is a longtime federal judge in Tampa who previously served as a Hillsborough circuit judge and, before that, operated a Plant City law firm. Her mother, Carol Moody, is a lawyer who assisted senior citizens with Bay Area Legal Services.

Her grandfather, James S. Moody Sr., was a state lawmaker and Hillsborough County circuit judge. A few years ago, DeSantis appointed her brother, James S. Moody III, to be a county judge.

The oldest of three, Moody in the early 1990s became the face of Plant City High School.

An “A” student, she was a member of the National Honor Society. Her extracurriculars included cheerleading captain, Future Farmers of America and three years as her class vice president. She was elected to Plant City’s Youth Council, a program that gave students a feel for local government leadership.

She was active in the school’s drama club. Her first mention in local media came as a cast member in a school production of the musical “Annie.” In her senior year, a photo showing her performance in “The Inner Circle” ran in local newspapers.

Before she became a powerhouse lawyer, the accolade many people associated with Ashley Moody was her 1993 crowning as Plant City’s Strawberry Festival Queen. The competition is a local tradition that goes back nearly a century. Moody bested more than 30 other hometown girls in a pageant that judged them on interviews, public speaking, swimsuits and beauty.

“I cannot believe that from a little baby Ashley grew up and was elected queen,” her father told the Tampa Tribune.

She followed her family’s footsteps to the University of Florida, where she would earn bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees, making her a “triple Gator.” She became a member of Florida Blue Key, the university’s prestigious honor society that has groomed the careers of governors, senators and other Florida leaders.

Moody first registered to vote as a Democrat. Her hometown was solidly Democratic back then.

She switched to Republican in 1998 as Jeb Bush was vying to become governor and a slate of conservative candidates took control of the Legislature.

Bush chose Moody a year later to serve on the Board of Regents, the defunct governing body for the state’s university system. She helped select UF’s president later that year. The 24-year-old law student told the Tampa Tribune her responsibilities kept her so busy she only slept about five to six hours a day.

“People have a lot of faith and trust in me,” she told the Tribune. “They’re always offering me leadership positions. These things just seem to fall into my lap.”

As a young attorney at Holland & Knight, she handled commercial litigation. She was the two-time female champion of the firm’s annual chicken wing eating contest.

She went on to work as a federal prosecutor in Jacksonville. She handled drug, fraud and firearm cases. It was there that she met Justin Duralia, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. They later married.

Ascent to the bench

Five years into her legal career, Moody returned to Tampa with her sights set on the bench.

Ashley Moody became Florida’s youngest judge when Hillsborough County voters elected her at age 31 in 2006. In 2006, she’d attained the minimum required years of practice to become a judge and launched a campaign to join the Hillsborough circuit. She faced two opponents, both men, who’d been lawyers for longer than she had.

She endured criticisms that she was too inexperienced to be a judge. Yet, she got the most votes in that year’s primary and went on to win 60% in a runoff. At 31, she became the youngest judge in the state.

Her tenure as a local judge was mostly low-key, though she occasionally found herself at the center of high-profile cases.

Perhaps the most notable was that of Trevor Dooley. The Valrico man was accused of manslaughter in the death of his neighbor, David James, whom he shot during a fight on a neighborhood basketball court. Moody rejected Dooley’s claim of self-defense under Florida’s stand your ground law. She later presided over his trial, where a jury convicted him.

“All of this could have been avoided if somebody had stopped and said, ‘Let me introduce myself,’” she said in Dooley’s sentencing hearing. (Dooley’s conviction was later overturned on appeal due to erroneous jury instructions about the justifiable use of deadly force. Years later, he accepted a probation sentence in a deal with prosecutors.)

Ten years into her time as a judge, Moody raised eyebrows when she abruptly resigned. She soon confirmed speculation that she had quit to start a campaign for Florida’s attorney general.

She drew a swift endorsement from the office’s then-occupant, ex-Hillsborough prosecutor turned Republican star Pam Bondi.

“I’ve known her most of my life,” Bondi told the Tampa Bay Times then. “I don’t think there could be a more qualified candidate for attorney general in the entire state of Florida.”

“I call her the Energizer Bunny,” her father told the Times. “If anybody can do it, she can.”

Ten years into her time as a Hillsborough judge, Ashley Moody raised eyebrows when she abruptly resigned. She soon confirmed speculation that she had quit to start a campaign for Florida’s attorney general.

Her entry into the statewide political scene came with a promise not to mix politics with the work of the state’s chief legal officer. In campaign ads, she described herself as “a prosecutor, not a politician.”

She voiced strong support for Trump, who she said was “committed to making the tough decisions necessary to strengthen our country.”

Years earlier, Moody and members of her family were among those who sued Trump to get back deposits they’d paid ahead of the construction of Trump Tower Tampa, a condominium project that failed. Trump settled the case in 2011.

Her first couple of years in office saw Moody pursuing initiatives against opioid abuse, human trafficking and other common law enforcement targets.

“In my term as attorney general, I will never do the bidding of anyone except the people of the state of Florida,” she told Politico after her first year in office.

Yet, as Moody established herself as a statewide figure, she became a loyal ally to DeSantis and gravitated toward hyperpartisan causes.

In 2019, she pushed for the U.S. Census to add a question about whether respondents were American citizens.

Later, she spearheaded lawsuits against President Joe Biden‘s administration over vaccine mandates, masking requirements and immigration. She defended the Parental Rights in Education law, which was labeled by opponents as “don’t say gay,” and she supported a Florida Supreme Court reversal of abortion rights protections in the state’s constitution.

She was among the chorus of Republicans to question the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Shortly after Trump’s loss to Biden, Moody was one of 10 attorneys general to sign on to a legal brief calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that allowed Pennsylvania election officials to count some late-arriving absentee ballots.

She later signed on to a brief in a Texas lawsuit that alleged “voting irregularities” in four key swing states won by Biden and urged the high court to allow each state’s legislature to decide how to vote in the Electoral College.

Her efforts drew backlash from citizens, lawyers, former lawmakers and a former Florida Supreme Court justice. A letter to the editor in the Times wondered if Moody was trying to “out-Bondi” her predecessor, who also lent her voice to false voter fraud claims.

Even lawyers in Moody’s own office scoffed at the Texas lawsuit. One called it “bats–t insane.”

Her tone changed after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, where Trump supporters disrupted the certification of the election.

In the wake of the insurrection, Moody condemned the violence and called attacks against police officers “unacceptable,” saying that anyone who assaults law enforcement “should be brought to justice.”

At the same time, Moody’s office scrubbed from her online biography references to her association with the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a nonprofit arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association, which helped draw Trump’s supporters to the Capitol.

Her venture into election denialism drew fire.

“I’m not just a tad disappointed, I’m extremely disappointed,” former Hillsborough Chief Judge Manuel Menendez Jr. told the Times in 2021.

“A former judge should know better,” said Dan Gelber, a former Democratic lawmaker, who ran for attorney general against Bondi in 2010.

The Lincoln Project, a national activist group of anti-Trump Republicans, called on her to resign.

Yet, Moody had no problem winning a second term. In an election that solidified the Republican grip on the Sunshine State, she beat her Democratic opponent, former Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala, by a little more than 20 percentage points.

U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. swears in Attorney General Ashley Moody, his daughter, who is accompanied by her husband, Justin Duralia, during her inauguration ceremony on Jan. 3, 2023, in Tallahassee.[ Miami Herald (2023) ] Moody was, by then, seen as a top contender to be the state’s next governor.

Adam Goodman, a national Republican media consultant who is credited with boosting the careers of Bondi and other politicians, told the Times in 2021 that Moody’s political story was yet to be written.

“You may disagree with her philosophically, but you can’t question her credentials,” Goodman said at the time. “She’s smart as hell.”

Amid the high-stakes game of musical chairs that followed Republican victories in 2024, all eyes were on her and Florida’s open Senate seat.

As DeSantis made her appointment official Thursday, he recited a list of her actions as attorney general that aligned with his political priorities, including aggressive stances on immigration, fights against the Biden administration and defenses of Trump.

“In every major battle we have had since I have been governor, she has been with us every step of the way,” DeSantis said.

Darryl Paulson, a professor emeritus of government at the University of South Florida, said he always saw Moody as the likely option for the Senate appointment. Her strongest asset, he said, is her loyalty to both DeSantis and Trump.

“Fealty to Trump is the most important political attribute of any Republican who seeks to move up politically,” Paulson said.

Paulson also noted that Moody will be the second female Republican senator from Florida, which will help Republicans with women voters. And she has championed issues that are important to Republicans broadly, like opposition to recreational drugs and the Affordable Care Act.

Such partisanship tends not to hurt those who seek to hold power.

“Both political parties march in lockstep to the beat of their party drummers,” Paulson said. “Independent thoughts are penalized and everyone must follow the dictates of their party leaders, and that is especially the case of following the commands of Trump.”

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©2025 Tampa Bay Times. Visit at tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

ATLANTA — Countywide elections for all five seats on the Houston County Commission block representation for Black voters, resulting in an all-white board, according to lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice filed Thursday.

Only one Black candidate has ever been elected to the Houston Commission since post-Civil War Reconstruction in the Middle Georgia county, where 30% of active registered voters are Black.

The federal lawsuit, filed in the final days of the Biden Administration, alleges the county’s at-large election system violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racial discrimination in elections.

At-large elections, where all voters can vote for every seat, enable the white majority to consistently outnumber Black voters, the lawsuit said. Most other county commissions across Georgia are elected by voters in specific districts rather than countywide.

“The current method of electing the Houston County Board of Commissioners dilutes the voting strength of Black citizens,” according to the lawsuit. “White voters cast their ballots sufficiently as a bloc to defeat Black voters’ preferred candidate.”

The Houston Commission said in a press release it’s investigating the allegations, noting that the lawsuit doesn’t include any claims of intentional racial discrimination.

“Houston County will always follow the law,” the commission said. “If we determine if we agree with the DOJ regarding a possible violation of the Voting Rights Act after reviewing all of the documents and evidence, we will take appropriate action at that time.”

The DOJ’s lawsuit asked a judge to order a new election system for the Houston Commission.

Houston County, located south of Macon with a population of about 172,000, includes the cities of Perry and Warner Robins.

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©2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he plans to elevate one of his closest allies, James Uthmeier, to be the state’s attorney general.

Uthmeier’s likely new role results from a political domino chain set off by President-elect Donald Trump nominating U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his secretary of state.

DeSantis on Thursday announced he is appointing Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill Rubio’s Senate seat, and said he expects to choose Uthmeier to backfill Moody’s job.

“My chief of staff James Uthmeier is kind of like Ashley. He’s proven himself in these fights, and I think he’s got big shoes to fill but I think he’ll do a good job doing that,” DeSantis said. “I’m not going to make the appointment before it’s available but I think that that’s something that will happen.”

If appointed, Uthmeier would serve as attorney general until the 2026 election.

Here’s what to know about him.

He managed DeSantis’ presidential campaign

DeSantis, in his ultimately unsuccessful run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, faced poor polling and financial woes. So in August 2023, he tapped Uthmeier to replace his campaign manager.

Uthmeier took a leave of absence as DeSantis’ chief of staff to manage the campaign; when the campaign ended, he returned to his post in the governor’s office.

He’s been in DeSantis’ office since 2019

Uthmeier joined the governor’s office in March 2019 and has been DeSantis’ chief of staff since October 2021.

He started his career with the governor’s office as deputy general counsel, according to his LinkedIn, and was elevated to general counsel in October 2020.

As part of his work for the governor, Uthmeier directed the judicial nominations process, according to his self-provided biography on the Federalist Society website.

In Florida, judicial nominating commissions submit a handful of names to the governor, who has final say on whom to appoint as a new judge.

In his current role, Uthmeier makes $201,724.

He worked in Washington for the Trump administration

Uthmeier grew up in Florida and got his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, then left the state for Washington for several years.

Uthmeier graduated from Georgetown Law School in 2014. While in college, he worked as a law clerk for Rubio from December 2012 to January 2014, according to Uthmeier’s LinkedIn.

He then worked as an associate at the major Washington-based law firm Jones Day before joining the Trump administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce.

There, he was senior adviser and counsel to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and played a key role in trying to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 U.S. Census.

He helped fight Florida’s legal weed and abortion amendment

Ahead of the 2024 election, DeSantis led opposition to two proposed constitutional amendments that would have legalized recreational marijuana and protected abortion access.

The governor leveraged state power against the citizen-led ballot initiatives, and Uthmeier helped. Uthmeier was the chairperson of two political committees that raised money to oppose the amendments.

Ultimately both amendments failed to surpass Florida’s 60% requirement for adoption.

He was heavily involved in Florida’s migrant flights

In 2022, DeSantis led a state-funded operation that flew roughly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. Several of the migrants had legal status in the U.S. as asylum seekers and said they were tricked into taking the charter flights with false promises of jobs and other aid.

The recruitment tactics used by the DeSantis administration resulted in criminal investigations and several lawsuits, including one filed by some migrants who claimed they were deceived by the state.

Behind the scenes, DeSantis relied heavily on his top aides, including Uthmeier. Uthmeier worked closely with DeSantis’ former public safety czar Larry Keefe, who traveled to Texas to oversee the program.

Keefe texted Uthmeier that conditions in Texas were “favorable,” and Uthmeier told Keefe that he had his “full support,” according to public records.

Uthmeier used his personal cellphone in planning that operation. DeSantis’ lawyers have tried to block Uthmeier’s phone logs, despite it being used to conduct state business.

Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.

©2025 Tampa Bay Times. Visit at tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A U.S. ban on ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok is poised to be delayed with a deadline for the sale of the app falling on a holiday weekend and President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration pledging an extension.

President Joe Biden’s administration is not planning to intervene before a Jan. 19 deadline for TikTok’s U.S. arm to find a buyer for the Chinese-owned video sharing app or be shuttered, two officials familiar with the planning said, speaking on condition of anonymity to detail the government’s approach.

The officials said the deadline — which lands on Sunday, one day before the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday and Trump’s inauguration — essentially punts the issue of how to deal with the app to their White House successors.

An official said the current administration’s policy has been clear — that Tiktok should remain in operation but under American ownership and that the timing of the deadline left implementation of a ban up to the next administration.

The law allows a 90-day extension in the event there’s a credible plan to divest. Biden’s administration has not been presented with such a plan and doesn’t believe it has the authority to delay implementation, one official said.

One of the officials said TikTok users should not expect an immediate shutdown on Sunday.

Michael Waltz, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, has already said the next administration intends to find a way to extend the deadline.

“We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Waltz told Fox News’s Fox and Friends on Thursday morning, adding that the law on the impending ban “allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table.”

“That buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going,” said Waltz, who had voted for the ban last year while serving in the U.S. House.

With a ban on TikTok just days away, spurred by concerns the app is both a data security risk and a propaganda tool of the Chinese state, politicians in both major U.S. parties have been seeking ways to keep it accessible to American users. Trump, who sought to ban TikTok during his first term, has since embraced the app, crediting it with helping him bolster his outreach to young voters.

“It’s been a great platform for him and his campaign to get his America First message out. But at the same time, he wants to protect their data,” Waltz said Thursday. “Conservatives don’t want the FBI, and they certainly don’t want, the Chinese Communists getting their passwords, getting their data and being able to overly influence the American people.”

Potential deals

Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive officer, plans to attend Trump’s inauguration, according to a person familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

There are efforts on Capitol Hill to put off the deadline. A group of Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Cory Booker of New Jersey, this week introduced legislation which would give the company another 270 days to reach a deal.

Although ByteDance has refused to sell, earlier this week people familiar with the matter said Chinese officials were evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the U.S. operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off the ban. Musk is a prominent ally of Trump and has a role in the incoming administration.

Musk and his representatives did not respond to a request for comment. A ByteDance representative said the company “can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”

Billionaires Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary could also be palatable buyers because they are not interested in acquiring TikTok’s coveted algorithm, which ByteDance and Beijing have emphasized is not for sale.

O’Leary recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss their so-called “Project Liberty” bid, and McCourt and his team have spoken with more than 60 elected officials and policymakers about their plans for what McCourt has described as “TikTok 2.0.”

Oracle Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., companies TikTok already does business with, have also been floated as possible contenders.

Legal challenge

TikTok is challenging the impending ban before the U.S. Supreme Court, though the justices indicated during arguments last week they are inclined to uphold the divest-or-ban law.

Even if they uphold the law, TikTok won’t disappear off Americans’ phones on Sunday. Those in the U.S. will no longer be able to download TikTok from Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google app stores, and those who already have the app installed will no longer be able to update it, but the platform will remain usable at least temporarily.

There is also an open question around whether Trump, once in office, might direct the DOJ not to enforce the law, and how U.S. tech companies charged with complying — such as Apple, Google and Oracle that must stop hosting or distributing the TikTok app in the U.S. — would respond.

Companies found violating the law could be subject to severe penalties determined by “multiplying $5,000 by the number of users,” according to the law, and in a country where more than half the population is on TikTok, those fines could easily climb into the billions.

TikTok could be readying separate plans to simply shut the app down on Sunday, according to a report in The Information, a move aimed at mobilizing many of its 170 million American users to push the new administration to take action to save the app. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it has presented a divestiture plan to the Biden administration.

Content creators are already organizing online to pressure Trump to deliver on his campaign promises to keep the app alive.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.