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3 hours ago

Trump moves inauguration indoors to chamber Jan 6 rioters ‘desecrated’ four years ago: Live updates

President-elect says he has ordered inauguration and speeches to take place in the Capitol Rotunda ‘as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985’

Kristi Noem won't say if she will withhold disaster aid if Trump asks

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The inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda on Monday because frigid temperatures are expected in the nation’s capital.

It’s set to be the coldest inauguration day in four decades.

“I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has overseen a number of January 6 cases, said during a sentencing hearing Friday that her recent visit to the Capitol served as a reminder that “people came in and desecrated that beautiful space,” Politico reported.

This comes as South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem – Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security and best known for bragging about shooting dead her dog Cricket in her memoir – was pressed by senators at her confirmation hearing on Friday on whether she would dare stand up to the president-elect if he threatened to withhold federal disaster relief funding from blue states.

Noem suggested she would adhere to the law while adding that “leadership has consequences”.

7 hours ago

Watch: ‘The southern border is not secure’, says Noem

This was the governor’s big line a short while earlier, given in response to a lay-up from Missouri Republican Josh Hawley.

Hawley called the incumbent secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas a “disgrace” and called Noem’s honesty “refreshing”.

The same exchange also saw her back the return of the “Remain in Mexico” policy.

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 15:45
7 hours ago

Noem asked whether she will actually be in charge of the border

New Jersey Democrat Andy Kim asks the governor who will really be in charge of border security under the incoming administration.

She answers that Trump will, given that it is a national security concern.

Kim then raises conflicting comments made on the issue by the president-elect and by his border czar Tom Homan, each indicating that they will be taking charge, prompting the senator to say he is concerned that the Department of Homeland Security will not be “empowered” and imply that confusion could reign.

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 15:35
8 hours ago

Biden claims Equal Rights Amendment is ‘law of the land’ after decades-long ratification fight

Joe Biden is claiming to recognize a new constitutional amendment to enshrine protections against sex discrimination, but it’s unclear whether the president intends to take any action to publish it before Donald Trump enters office.

Biden’s statement is just a statement and not an order, proclamation or other presidential action and it carries absolutely zero legal force, as abortion rights advocates and LGBT+ civil rights groups demand urgent protections with just days before Trump returns to the White House.

A senior administration official refused to say whether there had been any communications with the National Archivist’s office during a briefing early on Monday and repeatedly demurred when asked about the meaning or effect of the president’s statement.

The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress in the 1970s and gradually, over decades, approved by enough states to make it the 28th Amendment. But that ratification effort blew past the deadline, so it was never officially published.

Alex Woodward has this report.

Biden claims Equal Rights Amendment is ‘law of the land’ after decades-long fight

Biden’s statement has no legal force and a White House official said courts would have to decide whether the amendment is a valid part of America’s constitution

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 15:25
8 hours ago

Democrat presses Noem on whether she would stand up to Trump on disaster relief

Back at the Senate, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal has been pushing the South Dakota Governor, who would be responsible for FEMA if she were made Homeland Security Secretary, to say she would stand up to the president-elect if he threatened to withhold federal disaster relief funding from blue states, as he has often done in the past.

She is careful to say only that she would follow the rule of law in such a situation but adds that “leadership has consequences”, ostensibly a dig at Governor Gavin Newsom’s liberal California.

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 15:15
8 hours ago

Breaking: US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban

As things stand, that means the popular social video app will be shut down in the United States on Sunday.

Here’s the very latest from Ariana Baio.

Supreme Court backs TikTok ban: App set to shut down Sunday

Law passed by Congress forces TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or banned by Sunday

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 15:10
8 hours ago

Noem talks north and south borders and rebukes cyber security agency for going ‘off mission'

Kristi Noem has promised not to neglect America’s northern border, given all the focus on the south, commenting:

“I think there’s been some universal concern from some of the committee members that as we focus on the southern border, and what we’re seeing as far as the invasion there and the amount of people crossing, that the northern border would lose focus, but that will not happen.

“The number one threat to our homeland security is the southern border.”

Asked about the threat posed by domestic terrorism, Noem warns that “homegrown terrorism is on the rise”.

“We see more and more incidents of people that are US citizens, that have become radicalized, and knowing when people are leaving the country and coming back and changes to their behaviors and what their actions are is critically important.

“So the resources that the Department of Homeland Security has needs to be utilized as far as identifying those threats and being proactive to prevent them, but also protecting civil rights and liberties in that process.”

Asked about cyberattacks, she says the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) “has gotten far off mission”.

“The mission of it is to hunt and harden. It’s to find those bad actors and help work with local and state infrastructure, critical infrastructure entities, so that they can help them be prepared for such cyberattacks, and that they can make sure that they’re hardening their systems to protect them in the future, recognizing the vulnerabilities that they have. This has gotten far off mission.”

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 15:05
8 hours ago

Noem pledges to keep Americans ‘safe and secure’

Back to the South Dakota Governor, who had this to say in her opening remarks a short while ago:

“Securing our homeland is a serious, sacred trust that must be relentlessly pursued and can never be taken for granted

“Being safe within our borders is an American right, yet Americans feel less safe than they have in decades.

“For the first time in 30 years, more than 40 percent of Americans are afraid to walk alone at night within a mile of their home.

“President-Elect Trump is going to change that.”

She also touted her own record in the governor’s mansion:

“I have led South Dakota for the last six years with a focus every day on making our state safer, stronger, and freer.

“I have focused every day on making the best decisions not just for right now, but for generations to come.

“I have overseen a state budget of over $7bn and a state employee workforce of more than 13,000, including more than 7,000 reporting to the governor.

“I have addressed important issues like cybersecurity, human trafficking, drug interdiction, and natural disasters – the same challenges facing so many of you here and the people you represent back at home.”

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 14:55
8 hours ago

Trump reveals he spoke to Xi Jinping this morning

Here’s the latest from the president-elect on Truth Social, who says he spoke to his Chinese counterpart on Friday morning to discuss “trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects”:

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 14:45
9 hours ago

In pictures: Noem arrives for Senate confirmation hearing

The South Dakota Governor has heard a series of flattering testimonies to her character from various silver-haired Republican senators and is now delivering her opening statement, expressing her belief in the importance of collaboration between agencies in the interests of keeping America safe.

Here she is a short while ago arriving for the hearing.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing on Friday January 17 2025
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing on Friday January 17 2025 (Ben Curtis/AP)
Noem is greeted by Republican Senator John Cramer
Noem is greeted by Republican Senator John Cramer (AP)
Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 14:30
9 hours ago

Louisiana Governor urges Senate to approve Noem to allay security concerns over Super Bowl and Mardi Gras

Jeff Landry has warned the Senate not to delay in appointing South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security – her confirmation hearing is happening right now – because doing otherwise could have an adverse impact on security arrangements for two major events taking place in the coming weeks in New Orleans, which is still recovering from the terror attack of New Year’s Day.

Noem confirmation hearing delay ‘could harm Super Bowl and Mardi Gras security’

South Dakota Governor needs to be in place as soon as possible to oversee safety arrangments for New Orleans events in wake of New Year’s Day terror attack, Jeff Landry argues

Joe Sommerlad17 January 2025 14:15

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