Trump inauguration to move indoors amid frigid temperatures in Washington – live

Donald Trump has confirmed that his inauguration ceremony will take place inside the Capitol on Monday, due to low temperatures forecast in Washington DC that will make holding the traditional outdoor swearing-in unsafe.

Trump made the news official in a post on Truth Social, which read:

January 20th cannot come fast enough! Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen. It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself. The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows. There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. 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!).

Therefore, 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. The various Dignitaries and Guests will be brought into the Capitol. This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!

Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday will likely be held indoors due to the very cold weather expected in Washington DC, CNN reports.

Inaugurations are typically conducted on a bandstand set up on the Capitol’s exterior west front, but the National Weather Service forecasts a high of 22F (-5.5C) on 20 January.

The last president to be sworn in indoors was Ronald Reagan, at the start of his second term in 1985.

Donald Trump elaborated on his thoughts on TikTok in a post on Truth Social, writing:

The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the supreme court decision in the TikTok case “incredibly disappointing” and said it was based on “fear-mongering and speculation”.

“By refusing to block this ban, the supreme court is giving the executive branch unprecedented power to silence speech it doesn’t like, increasing the danger that sweeping invocations of ‘national security’ will trump our constitutional rights,” said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of ACLU’s National Security Project.

In its opinion, the court wrote that the challenged lower court decision to ban TikTok was “content-neutral” because it imposes “TikTok-specific prohibitions due to a foreign adversary’s control over the platform and make divestiture a prerequisite for the platform’s continued operation in the United States. They do not target particular speech based upon its content.”

The opinion goes on to say that even if China has not yet used its connection to TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, to access the vast troves of data that TikTok collects on its US users, it is a “reasonable inferenc[e] based on substantial evidence” that they might do so in the future”.

The ACLU called on the next administration to “fix or repeal this flawed legislation”.

“Taking away Americans’ free speech rights does not make us safer; it endangers our democracy,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at ACLU.

The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the question of implementing a ban on TikTok will be left to Donald Trump, Reuters reports.

Here’s the press secretary’s full statement:

The administration, like the rest of the country, has awaited the decision just made by the US supreme court on the TikTok matter. President Biden’s position on TikTok has been clear for months, including since Congress sent a bill in overwhelming, bipartisan fashion to the President’s desk: TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law. Given the sheer fact of timing, this administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday.

Donald Trump told CNN that he will decide what to do with TikTok once he takes office, after the supreme court upheld legislation that will ban it on Sunday unless its Chinese owner sells its US operations.

“It ultimately goes up to me, so you’re going to see what I’m going to do,” Trump said in an interview with the network. Asked if he would try to reverse the ban, should it go into effect, Trump said: “Congress has given me the decision, so I’ll be making the decision.”

Justice Neil Gorsuch expressed reservations about the TikTok sale-or-ban bill.

Though the conservative justice voted to uphold the law, he did not express total certainty in it.

“Whether this law will succeed in achieving its ends, I do not know. A determined foreign adversary may just seek to replace one lost surveillance application with another,” he wrote in his concurring opinion.

“But the question we face today is not the law’s wisdom, only its constitutionality. Given just a handful of days after oral argument to issue an opinion, I cannot profess the kind of certainty I would like to have about the arguments and record before us.”

TikTok’s attorneys had argued that the first amendment should have protected the social media app from Congress’s legislation that will impose a ban unless its Chinese owner divests.

But the supreme court disagreed, writing that Congress has legitimate concerns with TikTok, and the power to deal with them:

There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ first amendment rights.

The supreme court has allowed to go into effect a law that will force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell its US business by Sunday, or face a ban.

Donald Trump says he has spoken to China’s president, Xi Jinping, about a range of topics, including TikTok.

Writing on Truth Social, the president-elect said:

I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!

If the supreme court allows the TikTok sell-or-ban law to go into effect, it will be up to Donald Trump to enforce it, and the incoming president has said he wants to keep the popular social media app available.

NBC News reports that Joe Biden’s administration does not plan to enforce the ban in what would be the final hours of its administration, assuming TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance does not find an American buyer. In Congress, forcing the sale of TikTok was a bipartisan cause, but Trump has warmed to the app, and even invited its CEO to sit on the dais at Monday’s inauguration.

Here are the steps he could take to allow it to remain available, even if ByteDance does not sell:

Good morning, US politics blog readers. The supreme court has announced it will release opinions at 10am ET today, as a challenge to a law that will ban TikTok on Sunday unless its China-based owner sells its US business awaits the justices’ decision. As usual, the court did not say how many opinions will be released or on which cases, and thus we will just have to wait an hour or so to find out. Should they decide the TikTok case, we do have some hints on how the justices may rule – in oral arguments last week, they seemed inclined to uphold the law.

Meanwhile, we are in the final days of Joe Biden’s administration, and the Democratic president is making some last-minute moves ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival on Monday. This morning, he announced clemency for about 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses, as well as 15 more prescription drugs that Medicare will negotiate lower prices for. Biden still could have more executive actions planned before he leaves office, including preemptive pardons to Trump’s enemies. We’ll let you know if he announces anything else today.

Here’s what else is going on:

• If the TikTok ban is allowed to stand, the Biden administration does not plan to enforce it, NBC News reports.

• Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor who Trump picked for homeland security chief, has her Senate confirmation hearing at 9am today.

• Israel’s cabinet just approved the Gaza ceasefire deal. Follow our live blog for more on this breaking story.