WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President-elect Donald Trump announced his Jan. 20 inauguration will be moved indoors as Washington braces for what are expected to be frigid temperatures.
The U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 17 upheld a federal law that would require social media giant TikTok to shut down in the U.S. unless its China-based parent company sells it by Jan. 19. The same week in Washington, the Biden administration removed Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, President Joe Biden delivered a series of farewell speeches seeking to define his legacy and several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees underwent confirmation hearings at the Capitol.
Inauguration to be Moved Indoors
The inauguration ceremony will be moved from the planned location at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol to an indoor ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, Trump said Jan. 17, attributing the move to “an Arctic blast sweeping the Country.”
Weather forecasts for the nation’s capital city include single-digit wind chills as an Arctic front moves through the area, with a few inches of snow possible the day before.
“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said on social media. “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!).”
High Court Unanimously Upholds TikTok Ban-or-Sale Law
In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said Congress acted within its authority to force TikTok to divest or be banned, rejecting the social media company’s First Amendment challenge to the law.
“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,” the unsigned opinion said. “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.”
The ruling leaves the future of the social media giant’s presence in the U.S. in limbo, as spokespersons for Biden said he will not enforce it in his final hours in office — although he signed the law — saying it will be up to the new administration to oversee.
Trump has struck a friendlier tone toward TikTok, and its CEO is expected to attend his inauguration.
Cuba Removed From State Sponsors of Terrorism List
The Biden administration announced Jan. 14 that it will remove Cuba from the state sponsor of terrorism list, an eleventh-hour move that will likely be reversed by the incoming Trump administration.
Cuba was previously placed on the list after former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the communist-run government was “providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists.” Designation as a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. government comes with significant economic sanctions, among other consequences.
Senior Biden administration officials said moving Cuba off the list was aimed at helping an effort by the Catholic Church to negotiate with Cuba for the release of hundreds of political prisoners, many of whom were imprisoned following unprecedented protests in July 2021.
Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace commended the Biden administration for the move in a statement.
“For decades, in conjunction with the Holy See, the Cuban bishops, and the majority of the international community, the USCCB has urged collaboration and mutually beneficial relations between the United States and Cuba, as well as the full lifting of the economic embargo against the island nation,” said Bishop Zaidan, who heads the St. Louis-based Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon.
“It is my hope that this policy shift renews our country’s bilateral engagement on Cuba, and that it prompts both the United States and Cuba to explore a greater degree of collaboration, including bilateral trade and greater access to travel between our nations,” the bishop said in a Jan. 16 statement. “Cuba needs more engagement from the United States, not less, and it is precisely through a greater commitment to bilateral collaboration and cooperation that positive change will come for the Cuban people, including cultural exchange and a stronger economy.”
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, retired archbishop of Boston, wrote in a message that the move was fitting for the Jubilee Year.
“In contemporary terms, it is a Holy Year inviting the community of the Church to foster forgiveness, reconciliation and various expressions of compassion,” he said. “It is in that spirit that I commend and welcome the decisions of the government of the United States and the government of Cuba to take steps that for years have seemed impossible.”
Cardinal O’Malley noted the Cuban government “has informed Pope Francis that, in response to his request, it is releasing 553 persons who have been incarcerated for several years.”
Biden Seeks to Cement Legacy
In a series of final speeches as president, Biden sought to define his legacy as president and issue warnings about his concerns for the future.
In his Jan. 15 farewell address, Biden warned against the concentration of power not only in government but also in other elements of society, such as in corporations and the technology industry.
In a separate speech Jan. 15 to U.S. diplomats at the State Department, Biden touted his administration’s support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and for Israel after an attack on that country by Hamas.
“The post Cold-War era is over,” he said. “A new era has begun. In these four years, we faced crises, we’ve been tested, we’ve come through those tests, stronger in my view, than we entered those tests. This is a fierce competition underway. The future of the global economy, technology, human values and so much else. Right now, in my view, thanks to our administration, the United States is winning the worldwide competition.”
Biden also celebrated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has thus far “failed” to conquer Ukraine or weaken NATO.
“As I saw it, when Putin launched his invasion, I had two jobs: one, to rally the world to defend Ukraine, and the other is to avoid war between two nuclear powers,” Biden said. “We did both those things. And today, Ukraine is still free, independent country with the potential — the potential for a bright future.”
Trump Nominees Undergo Confirmation Hearings
Several Trump Cabinet nominees faced congressional scrutiny this week, with his choices for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., among them.
Rubio, whose nomination is expected to pass with bipartisan support, had a cordial hearing with his colleagues Jan. 15 despite some interruptions by protesters. The hearing touched on a broad range of foreign policy matters, including Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s anti-Catholic persecution.
“One of the first things they did in the new year is they kicked out every nun from the country,” Rubio said. “They’ve gone to war with the Catholic Church, which was the last institution in the country capable of standing up to them.” (A source familiar with the church’s situation in Nicaragua was unable to confirm for OSV News the senator’s assertions that there are no religious sisters left in Nicaragua.)
Hegseth, a 44-year-old combat veteran and former Fox News host who is among Trump’s more controversial nominees, has been accused of sexual assault stemming from a 2017 incident he claimed was consensual, although he later paid the unnamed woman as part of a 2020 nondisclosure agreement.
After a tense hearing Jan. 14, in which Hegseth was questioned about those allegations, his level of alcohol consumption and his qualifications for the job, Hegseth is likely to be confirmed as Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa — a veteran who had previously expressed skepticism about Hegseth’s comments about women in combat, and was seen as a bellwether for his confirmation — said she would support him.
Biden Calls Equal Rights Amendment ‘Law of the Land’
Biden said in a Jan. 17 statement that he believes that the Equal Rights Amendment has met the requirements of ratification and is now part of the Constitution, a surprising announcement as the president has no direct role in approving amendments.
“In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” Biden said.
But it was not immediately clear what the impact of Biden’s directive would be on an amendment that was already in legal limbo. In order to amend the Constitution, that document requires the approval of two-thirds of both houses of Congress and three-quarters of the states. Virginia became the 38th state to do so in 2020, which some supporters said met the legal threshold to ratify the amendment. But opponents argue that when Congress approved it in 1972, it initially set a seven-year deadline for the states to follow suit, later extending it another 10 years, but both deadlines have long since passed.
Rep. Smith to Receive National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Award
Organizers of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast named Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a Catholic and a longtime lawmaker, as the 2025 recipient of its Christifideles Laici Award.
The award, the group states on its website, was created in 2019 “to help highlight these good works and those who serve the Church so well.”
This year’s event is scheduled for Feb. 28.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
