Following the pardon of US President Donald Trump, hundreds of people convicted in connection with the attack on the Capitol will begin to be released from prison on the Republican president's first full day in power.
Donald Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol four years ago will begin to be released from prison on Tuesday, pardoned by the new president in a flurry of Inauguration Day executive orders that signal intent to bring about radical change in the country.
Trump is likely to sign more executive orders on Tuesday, following actions issued on Monday that included actions to curb immigration and roll back environmental regulation, as well as a 75-day delay in enforcing a ban on video app TikTok shorts.
The Republican president's pardon of 1,500 defendants sparked outrage among congressmen who were endangered in the attack on January 6, 2021, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to prevent Congress from certifying his defeat in the 2020 elections against Democrat Joe Biden.
The pardons were some of the orders that Trump signed a few hours after taking office, returning triumphantly to the White House after winning the elections last November. In his inauguration speech he attacked Biden's presidency and presented himself as the right person to save a faltering country.
However, he faces a tough challenge in fulfilling his Inauguration Day promise of a “golden age of america” in the face of a deeply divided Congress, inevitable lawsuits and recalcitrant world leaders.
Trump took no immediate steps to raise tariffs, a key campaign promise, but said he could impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1.
Global markets greeted Trump's presidency with apprehension on Tuesday, with investors highly sensitive to headlines about the president's plans for trade relations and tariffs in particular.
US markets remained closed for a holiday on Monday, so the first reactions were felt during Asian trading on Tuesday. European stock markets were subdued, as rising financial and healthcare stocks offset overall losses stemming from uncertainty over Trump's tariff measures.
Trump, 78, is the first president in more than a century to win a second term after losing the White House. He is the oldest president to be sworn into office and has the support of Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.