Joe Biden takes office as 46th president of the United States

Joseph R. Biden Jr. took office as President of the United States on 20 January 2021 after taking the oath at the Capitol. Kamala D. Harris was sworn in as vice president, becoming the first woman and the first Black and South Asian American to hold that office. The ceremony completed the scheduled constitutional transfer following the 2020 election.

The inauguration occurred under exceptional security after the 6 January attack on the Capitol and with attendance limited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Donald Trump did not attend, although Vice President Mike Pence and former presidents were present. Those circumstances were politically significant but did not change the legal time at which the new presidential term began.

Biden’s inaugural address called for unity, democratic resilience and action on the pandemic, the economy, climate and racial inequality. An address states priorities; it is not evidence that the promised results were achieved. Executive orders signed later that day began policy changes through separate legal instruments.

This News record focuses on accession to office rather than the administration’s subsequent performance. The congressional certification, electoral vote and inauguration are linked but distinct stages. Using the oath and constitutional start date keeps the officeholder record precise and avoids treating a media projection or a state certification as the moment presidential authority transferred. The peaceful ceremony completed a constitutional process that had continued after the Capitol attack two weeks earlier.