President Biden issued five more pardons on Sunday on his last full day in office, including for political activist and Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. 

‘America is a country built on the promise of second chances,’ Biden said in a statement. ‘As President, I have used my clemency power to make that promise a reality by issuing more individual pardons and commutations than any other President in U.S. history. Today, I am exercising my clemency power to pardon 5 individuals and commute the sentences of 2 individuals who have demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation, and redemption. These clemency recipients have each made significant contributions to improving their communities.’ 

In addition to Garvey, the clemency recipients are Darryl Chambers, Ravidath ‘Ravi’ Ragbir,Don Leonard Scott, Jr., and Kemba Smith Pradia. Garvey was granted the pardon posthumously. 

The Biden White House described Garvey as ‘a renowned civil rights and human rights leader who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.’ 

President Calvin Coolidge commuted his sentence in 1927. ‘Notably, Mr. Garvey created the Black Star Line, the first Black-owned shipping line and method of international travel, and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which celebrated African history and culture. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described Mr. Garvey as ‘the first man of color in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement’,’ the White House said. ‘Advocates and lawmakers praise his global advocacy and impact, and highlight the injustice underlying his criminal conviction.’ 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Germany’s ambassador to the U.S. has warned that President-elect Trump’s administration will ‘undermine’ democratic principles with a ‘maximum disruption’ agenda, according to a report.

Reuters reported that it viewed a confidential briefing document signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis that describes the incoming Trump agenda as ‘a redefinition of the constitutional order – maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states.’

‘Basic democratic principles and checks and balances will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and media will be robbed of their independence and misused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given co-governing power,’ reads the document, which was dated Jan. 14.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Michaelis said recent actions by Trump and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk could lead to a ‘redefinition of the First Amendment.’ 

‘One is using lawsuits, threatening criminal prosecution and license revocation, the other is having algorithms manipulated and accounts blocked,’ the document reads, per Reuters.

Musk supported Trump throughout the election, and was tapped by the president-elect to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency. 

Last month, Germany accused Musk of attempting to interfere in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections on behalf of the country’s far-right political party, German Alternative for Germany, citing recent social media posts and a weekend op-ed doubling down on his endorsement.

Meanwhile, Michaelis even claimed that Trump could force his agenda on states using broad legal options and that ‘even military deployment within the country for police activities would be possible in the event of declared ‘insurrection’ and ‘invasion’.’

The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, however, bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement unless Congress overrides the federal law.

Despite what Michaelis says in the reported document, the German foreign ministry has acknowledged Trump won the democratic election and said it will ‘work closely with the new U.S. administration in the interests of Germany and Europe.’

President-elect Donald Trump will have his hand on two Bibles during his swearing-in ceremony on Monday, the culmination of the 60th Presidential Inauguration.

Trump will use his Bible, given to him by his mother in 1955, to ‘mark his Sunday Church Primary School graduation at First Presbyterian Church, in Jamaica, New York,’ a press release from his inaugural committee states. 

The religious text is a 1953 revised standard version that was published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in New York. Trump’s name is embossed on the lower portion of the front cover, and inside the cover are signatures of church officials, an inscription of the president’s name and details of when it was presented to him.

In addition to the sentimental Bible, the Lincoln Bible, first used in 1861 to swear-in the 16th U.S. president, will be used.

‘It has only been used three times since, by President Obama at each of his inaugurations and by President Trump at his first inauguration in 2017,’ Trump’s team states. ‘The burgundy velvet-bound book is part of the collections of the Library of Congress.’

President Obama also took the oath of office on two Bibles back in 2013, the Associated Press reported. One was owned by Martin Luther King Jr. and the other was the Lincoln Bible.

When Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States inside the Capitol’s rotunda, he will do so facing a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the federal holiday commemorating King’s legacy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

On January 20, 2025, at noon, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. He will be only the second president to serve non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland being the first. Cleveland’s fate was the result of buyer’s remorse from the public. First elected in 1884, he was defeated in 1888 by Benjamin Harrison, whose economic policies turned out to be a disaster. Harrison was so weak that Cleveland saw an opportunity to regain the White House. He was re-elected in 1892. 

On Monday, Trump will repeat Cleveland’s rare act as he stands for inauguration on one of the coldest days of the year in Washington, D.C. Trump announced that the ceremony would be moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, with live viewing for up to 20,000 at the Capital One Arena. Although over 200,000 people have tickets for the inauguration, most of them will be watching on screens with the rest of America. Harsh weather has driven the ceremonies inside on only a handful of occasions, most recently for Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985, when the temperature was seven degrees at noon.

Inauguration Day is the performance of a Constitutionally mandated ritual, our way of keeping the promise of democracy every four years. Its traditions, largely devoid of politics, are beloved by the public no matter who is placing their hand on the Bible. Every four years, this occasion is a celebratory acknowledgment of what unites us. Americans mostly set aside their differences and focus on our enduring democracy. Hard feelings may linger from the election, but the inaugural celebration transcends those divisions, if only for a day.

It begins in the late morning when it is tradition for the incoming president and his spouse to be hosted at the White House for tea by the outgoing president and his spouse. The Bidens will host the Trumps on January 20. This tea, another example of the peaceful transition of power, can be awkward when winners and losers come together in those final moments. The Trumps skipped it altogether in 2021, but photos from various transitions show a lot of stiff smiles. Everyone studies the photos for body language clues, but the bottom line is that it usually happens. Americans love to see leaders from different parties getting along, even superficially. Note the explosive response in the press and on social media over Trump and Obama smiling and chatting at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. 

It is also traditional for the outgoing and incoming presidents to ride to the Capitol together. Trump and Obama rode together on Trump’s first inauguration day in 2017. It is unknown whether Biden and Trump will share a car this time.

The inauguration ceremony itself will follow tradition, with all four living presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden present. Holding places of honor along with Cabinet appointees and high-ranking guests will be some new faces for this occasion—a collection of the nation’s most powerful tech leaders, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.

Everyone looks forward to the inauguration speech, which sets the tone for the new administration. Over the centuries, signature lines have become memorable long after a president has come and gone. What makes a statement memorable is how well it reflects the enduring spirit of America. For example, Thomas Jefferson’s declaration that ‘every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.’ Or Abraham Lincoln in 1865, when the Civil War was in its final, most bloody period, offering this remarkable olive branch: ‘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.’

Franklin Roosevelt stood before a nation shattered by the Great Depression and sought to instill a new resolve with these words: ‘So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.’ John F. Kennedy uttered what was perhaps the most famous inaugural line of all: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’

In Reagan’s first inaugural address, he staked out the guiding principle of American greatness in the world: ‘Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.’  

Reports from the Trump transition are that Trump will set an upbeat tone for his second inauguration, and if he does that, he will receive a positive public response. On this hallowed day, Americans like their leaders to speak about what is right with America.

After the ceremony there will be a parade, which has also been moved to the Capital One Arena. The inaugural parade, which has been a custom since the earliest days of the nation, is an opportunity to combine celebration with a showcase of the best of American life, with marching bands, floats and exhibits representing the states. American sacrifice and courage will be on display with military units, police, and fire departments. 

This year’s parade will also feature the first responders of Butler County, Pennsylvania, the location of a July assassination attempt on Donald Trump. They will pay homage to fallen Buffalo Township fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed that day. 

Finally, it is customary for the outgoing president to slip a personal note to his successor into a drawer of the Oval Office desk. The tradition began with Ronald Reagan, who left a personal note for George H.W. Bush. Bush then did the same for Bill Clinton, writing, ‘Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.’

When President Trump entered the White House for his first term, he found a note written by Barack Obama: ‘Millions have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.’ 

Trump left a note for Joe Biden in 2021, which Biden said was ‘a very generous letter.’ Now Joe Biden will leave a note for Trump. And the great cycle of American life continues.

During a busy week in the nation’s capital, far from the action, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had no trouble keeping his name in the political spotlight.

‘This is a time for action. And a time for Washington, D.C., to deliver results to the American people. There are no more excuses for Republicans,’ the conservative two-term governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate said Thursday as he named Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to succeed Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate.

Two days earlier, President-elect Trump gave his onetime bitter GOP primary rival a shout-out after the governor called for a special state legislative session to implement Trump’s expected immigration crackdown.

‘Thank you Ron, hopefully other governors will follow!’ the president-elect said in a social media post.

Due to the national profile he’s built over the past four years, the governor of one of the country’s most important states will likely continue to stay in the headlines as he takes a lead on some of the nation’s most consequential issues.

The spotlight should help DeSantis if he ends up launching a second straight GOP presidential nomination run in 2028, a race in which soon-to-be Vice President JD Vance will be considered the clear early frontrunner as the perceived America First and MAGA heir apparent to Trump.

‘He needs to do what he did in 2022, which is pick good fights. And he’s shown a lot of capability to pick good fights with the left both in Florida and nationally,’ longtime Republican strategist David Kochel said of DeSantis.

‘I think he’ll be in demand to come do stuff in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina,’ Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, predicted, pointing to the three key early voting states in the Republican presidential primaries. 

‘I wouldn’t change a lot from how he did the run-up to his 2024 campaign. The problem was he basically ran against an incumbent president. He didn’t have the wrong playbook. He had the wrong cycle.’

While the initial moves in the 2028 White House run will likely start in the coming months, including some early state visits, most Americans won’t be paying a lick of attention until after the 2026 midterms, when the next presidential campaign formally gets under way. And that’s when DeSantis will be wrapping up his second and final four-year term steering Florida, allowing him to concentrate 100% on a White House run if that’s in his cards.

But what about another high-profile Republican governor who likely has national ambitions in 2028?

The Virginia Constitution doesn’t allow for incumbent governors to run for a second consecutive term, so Gov. Glenn Youngkin will be out of office in Richmond in a year.

Compared to DeSantis, who also enjoys large GOP majorities in his state legislature, which will allow him to continue to enact a conservative agenda, Virginia is a purple state where Democrats have a slight upper hand in the legislature. 

‘It might be a little tougher for Youngkin, a little tougher for him to find ways to stay in the news’ after he leaves office in a year, Kochel suggested.

But, Younkin predicted, ‘You’re going to see me a lot.’

‘We’ve got a very aggressive agenda for being governor in the last 14 months,’ he said in a Fox News Digital interview in November. ‘But part of that agenda that I have is to make sure that we have [Lt. Gov.] Winsome Sears as our next governor. [Virginia Attorney General] Jason Miyares is back as our attorney general and a super lieutenant governor who we will pick at our primaries.’

Youngkin, who energized Republicans nationwide in 2021 as a first-time candidate who hailed from the party’s business wing, edged former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe to become the first GOP candidate in a dozen years to win a gubernatorial election in the one-time swing state that had trended toward the Democrats over the previous decade. He could also potentially end up in the Trump administration after his term in Richmond sunsets in a year.

‘I told the president when I called him and told him that I wanted to finish my term that I would be available to help him at any time while I’m governor and afterwards,’ Youngkin told Fox News Digital, referring to a call he held with Trump right after the November election.

But if he doesn’t enter the Trump administration, another route for Youngkin to stay in the spotlight in 2026 would be criss-crossing the country on behalf of fellow Republicans running in the midterm elections. It’s a role Youngkin previously played in 2022, helping fellow Republican governors and gubernatorial candidates.

‘He’s got to do the blocking and tackling, go state by state, help a lot of candidates, raise a lot of money for them. Get a bunch of governors elected,’ Kochel suggested. ‘That’s the playbook for him.’

What about NIkki Haley, the former two-term Republican governor of South Carolina and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Trump’s first administration, who was the last rival standing against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries?

Out of office and shut out of the Trump world while still facing social media zingers by the president-elect, Haley’s ability to grab attention should she seek the presidency again may be a more difficult climb within a party once again on bended knee to the former and future president.

Haley does have a weekly national radio show on Sirius XM, where she noted a few weeks ago, ‘I had no interest in being in [Trump’s] Cabinet.’

But a lot can happen in the two years until the next White House race officially gets under way. There could be some buyer’s remorse among voters if the new administration is not successful in enacting some of its goals.

‘While JD Vance starts as the presumed frontrunner right now, there’s a million miles to go between now and then,’ seasoned Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News.

And Kochel added that for some Republicans mulling a 2028 presidential bid, ‘I think a little strategic distance is not a bad idea. Because you don’t know what’s going to happen over the next two years.’

But holding statewide office — either as a governor or senator — doesn’t guarantee favorable coverage.

‘Having a day job cuts both ways. It gives you a platform, a megaphone, and an ability to make news whenever you want. But it also carries with it the responsibilities of governing or legislating or being part of government bodies, whether it’s Congress or the state you are running, where things can go wrong and end up on your doorstep and become political baggage,’ Reed noted.

Reed warned that ‘history is littered with those officeholders who ran and won for a second term only to have political baggage at home become political headaches on the campaign trail.’