Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump’s Cabinet picks to receive congressional approval.

Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed during a floor vote by the full Senate Monday night, several hours after Trump took his oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate floor vote occurred following a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio’s nomination Monday.  

Rubio enters his role as secretary of state with a strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate’s Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban American.

His road to confirmation has been less controversial than many of Trump’s other Cabinet picks. At Rubio’s first confirmation hearing last week in front of the Foreign Relations Committee, the committee’s top-ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said she thought Rubio possessed ‘the skills’ and is ‘well-qualified’ to serve as the next secretary of state. She echoed this sentiment Monday evening as well before the full Senate vote.

‘I’ve had a good working relationship with Sen. Rubio for many years, and I was very impressed during his hearing by his grasp of policy,’ Shaheen said Monday evening. ‘While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be secretary of state.’

Rubio expressed during his initial confirmation hearing last week that under Trump the State Department’s ‘top priority’ will be to put America first. 

‘This will not be easy,’ Rubio said. ‘And it will be impossible without a strong and a confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests, once again, above all else.’

Rubio will face some major challenges heading into his new role, notably the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Rubio described the fighting between Ukraine and Russia as a ‘stalemate’ that ‘has to end’ during his confirmation hearing last week, adding that under Trump’s proposed peace deal both countries will have to make ‘concessions.’ Meanwhile, despite Trump’s past criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Rubio called the alliance ‘very important’ and insisted that Trump was also a NATO supporter.

On Gaza, Rubio supported Israel’s actions to defend itself against Hamas but stopped short of indicating one way or the other if he thought Israel’s annexation of parts of the West Bank was something he supported. 

‘The idea would be that there not be conflict and the people could live side-by-side with one another without being in conflict and with the ability to pursue prosperity,’ Rubio said. ‘Sadly and unfortunately the conditions for that to exist have not been in place for a substantial period of time.’

Rubio also repeatedly singled out China during his remarks in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. ‘We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities,’ Rubio posited at his hearing. ‘Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense.’

While Rubio did not face significant opposition to his confirmation, some Trump-aligned Republicans have expressed disdain over Rubio’s willingness to certify the results of the 2020 election that Trump alleged was ‘stolen’ from him. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been an outspoken supporter of less U.S. intervention, also questioned Rubio’s hawkish stance on American intervention amid his confirmation to be secretary of state.

President Donald Trump, while signing a flurry of executive orders from the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office of the White House as the now 47th President of the United States, discovered a letter from his predecessor inside one of the desk’s drawers with the help of a Fox News reporter.

Trump was in the process of signing one of many executive orders on Monday after returning to the White House when Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked if President Biden left him a letter.

‘He may have. Don’t they leave it in the desk? I don’t know,’ Trump told Doocy before discovering a white envelope with the number ’47’ written on it. ‘Thank you, Peter. It could have been years before we found this thing.’

Trump then teased everyone in the room by suggesting they all read the letter together, before pulling back the reigns.

‘Well, maybe I’ll read it first and then make that determination,’ the president said, once again thanking the White House correspondent.

‘Happy to help with the passing of the torch,’ Doocy said.

Trump was then asked if he left one for Biden, and he said he left one in the desk, just like Biden.

In leaving the letter for Trump, Biden kept with the now 36-year tradition of the departing commander in chief, writing a note to the incoming president.

As he left the White House in 1989 after two terms in office, President Ronald Reagan started the tradition – leaving a note for his successor, George H. W. Bush, who also happened to be his vice president.

Four years later, despite losing to then-Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas, outgoing President Bush left Clinton a note in the Oval Office. The tradition has carried on to this day.

President Trump named Brian Driscoll to serve as acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday, marking one of his first moves on Inauguration Day.

According to the FBI website, Driscoll became a special agent in 2007. He has experience working in the agency’s New York field office and also worked on the FBI’s SWAT team.

The White House’s announcement came shortly after FBI acting director Paul Abbate retired on Monday, reportedly just minutes before Trump took office. Christopher Wray stepped down from the agency on Sunday, and Abbate only held down the acting director post for a day.

‘When the director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the F.B.I. Now, with new leadership inbound, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am departing the F.B.I.,’ Abbate said in an email obtained by the New York Times on Monday. ‘I have complete confidence in you and in your ability as a team to continue to carry out our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.’

Last week, then-FBI director Wray named Driscoll as the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Newark, New Jersey. In a press release published on Jan. 14, the agency noted that Driscoll ‘most recently served as the commander of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and Critical Incident Response Group’s (CIRG) Tactical Section chief.’

‘In March 2011, Mr. Driscoll was selected as an operator for FBI’s HRT,’ the press release noted. ‘Ultimately, he became an HRT team leader, responsible for the planning and execution of tactical solutions in furtherance of FBI global operations.’

‘He also collaborated with foreign law enforcement and military partners to conduct operations and training, strengthening FBI global partnerships.’

Driscoll’s time as acting director will presumably end when Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel is confirmed as the FBI’s next director by the U.S. Senate. Patel was nominated by Trump in November, who called him an ‘America First fighter.’

‘Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,’ Trump’s statement read. ‘He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution.’

Fox News’ David Spunt and Pat Ward and Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants on Monday night, after promising at his inaugural parade to sign an executive order on the matter. 

Sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Trump signed off on releasing more than 1,500 charged with crimes stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. The order requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons to act immediately on receipt of the pardons.

‘Tonight I’m going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons to get them out,’ Trump said at the parade at Capital One Arena in Washington. ‘I’m going to the Oval Office and we’ll be signing pardons for a lot of people.’

Those pardoned include Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys chairman, who faced a sentence of 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy. Tarrio’s attorney told the Associated Press he expects Tarrio to face release Monday evening. 

Trump previously promised that he would be ‘acting very quickly’ on his first day in office to pardon to the so-called ‘hostages.’  

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Trump’s pardon ‘shameful,’ and said to remember the ‘courage’ of law enforcement ‘heroes’ who ‘ensured that democracy survived.’ 

‘The President’s actions are an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution,’ Pelosi, who didn’t attend Trump’s inauguration Monday, said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. 

‘It is shameful that the President has decided to make one of his top priorities the abandonment and betrayal of police officers who put their lives on the line to stop an attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power,’ Pelosi said. 

The pardon was one of more than 200 executive orders Trump was expected to sign on Inauguration Day. Other directives he signed on Monday include withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement that the U.S. initially entered under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015. 

Trump previously withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term in 2020. 

On Monday morning, then-President Joe Biden issued a series of pardons just hours before Trump’s swearing in at the U.S. Capitol. Those pardoned by Biden include former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Mark Milley, whom Trump has accused of committing treason. Others Biden pardoned were those involved in the Jan. 6 Select Committee investigation that conducted a probe into the attack. 

‘The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,’ Biden said in a statement. ‘Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.’

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

President Trump’s youngest son Barron, 18, stepped into the spotlight at his father’s inauguration on Monday.  

Standing at a towering 6’9′, many attendees and viewers remarked about how mature the younger Trump has become since his father first took office back in January 2017.

At 10 years old, Barron Trump was often the victim of cruel jokes and rumors from his father’s critics. His mother, Melania Trump, attempted to shield him from unwanted scrutiny, though sometimes to no avail.

On Monday, the first son commanded respect from onlookers as he stood by his father’s side during the inaugural ceremonies. Here’s a look at how Barron Trump has grown up since 2017.

2017

At 10 years old, Barron Trump became the first son to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy, Jr. in 1961.

Barron, who turned 11 in March of 2017, also lived at Trump Tower in New York at the same time, attending Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on the Upper West Side.

Beginning in 2016, rumors swirled about Barron Trump possibly having autism, which comedian Rosie O’Donnell amplified. In 2024, Melania Trump said that the rumors deeply impacted her son, who was bullied at school.

‘I was appalled by such cruelty,’ Melania Trump wrote in her memoir. ‘It was clear to me that she was not interested in raising awareness about autism. I felt that she was attacking my son because she didn’t like my husband.’

‘There is nothing shameful about autism (though O’Donnell’s tweet implied that there was), but Barron is not autistic,’ she added. ‘Barron’s experience of being bullied both online and in real life following the incident is a clear indication of the irreparable damage caused.’

2018

Barron turned 12 years old in March 2018 and continued to be a common target for Trump’s enemies.

Actor Peter Fonda called for officials to ‘rip Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles.’ He later apologized for the remarks.

‘I tweeted something highly inappropriate and vulgar about the president and his family in response to the devastating images I was seeing on television,’ Fonda said in the statement shortly after. ‘Like many Americans, I am very impassioned and distraught over the situation with children separated from their families at the border, but I went way too far.’

2019

Barron was 13 years old when his family permanently relocated to Mar-a-Lago in 2019. That year, Trump said he would have a ‘hard time’ allowing his son to play football.

‘I just don’t like the reports that I see coming out having to do with football — I mean, it’s a dangerous sport and I think it’s really tough,’ Trump said at the time. ‘I thought the equipment would get better, and it has. The helmets have gotten far better, but it hasn’t solved the problem.’

During a 2019 House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing, Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan remarked that then-President Trump could ‘name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.’

Melania Trump was upset that her young son was mentioned at the hearing.

‘A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics,’ the first lady tweeted at the time. ‘Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it.’

2020

As Trump was fighting for his re-election bid in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the United States, Barron Trump continued to attend school and stayed out of the public spotlight. In 2020, ‘Jeopardy’ host Ken Jennings apologized for a joke he told about Barron in 2017. 

‘Barron saw a very long necktie and a heap of expired deli meat in a dumpster,’ Jennings tweeted at the time. ‘He thought it was his dad & his little heart is breaking.’

‘Hey, I just wanted to own up to the fact that over the years on Twitter, I’ve definitely tweeted some unartful [sic] and insensitive things,’ Jennings wrote in 2020. ‘Sometimes they worked as jokes in my head and I was dismayed to see how they read on screen.’

2021

Barron Trump was 14 years old when his father left office in January. He lived with his mother at Mar-a-Lago full-time and stayed out of the spotlight.

In July 2021, he was seen leaving Trump Tower with Melania Trump.

2022

Barron Trump was 16 when FBI agents raided his father’s Florida estate. He kept a low profile during this year, but he was seen in public with both of his parents at the funeral of Ivana Trump, Trump’s first wife, in July 2022.

In November 2022, his father announced his bid for the presidency.

2023

As President Trump’s campaign kicked up again in 2023, Barron was still absent from the public spotlight. In August of that year, his father’s mugshot was released.

2024

Barron Trump matriculated at New York University (NYU) in the fall of 2024. He graduated from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach in May, and was seen attending classes at NYU’S Stern School of Business.

In November, he also voted for the first time, casting a ballot for his father in Florida.

2025

Barron looked sharp as he attended his father’s inauguration on Jan. 20 Later during the day, he waved to the crowd after his father mentioned his role in the 2024 campaign.

‘I have a very tall son named Barron. Has anyone ever heard of him?’ Trump said to cheers, as the first son waved at attendees.

‘He knew the youth vote. You know, we won the youth vote by 36 points… He said, ‘Dad, you got to go out, do Joe Rogan, do all these guys,’’ Trump recalled. ‘We did, we did. And Joe Rogan was great.’

The 18-year-old also wowed attendees when he shook hands with President Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris, with some social media users speculating that he may pursue a political career in the future.

‘Barron Trump just shook hands with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,’ one X user wrote. ‘This kid will be our President one day. Bet on it.’

‘Barron Trump is a natural,’ another said of Barron. ‘Totally owned the moment.’

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Curto and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump arrived at the Commander-in-Chief Ball shortly after 10 PM ET on Monday, and shared his First Dance with first lady Melania Trump – his first of three ball appearances that night.

Shortly after the band played ‘Americans, We,’ Trump was introduced by an emcee at the Walter Washington Convention Center in Mount Vernon Square, D.C.

The event is geared toward service members. 

For his first dance, Trump and first lady Melania Trump danced to a contemporary rendition of Julia Ward Howe’s 1861 Civil War anthem ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’

The song was the clarion call of the Union Army of the Potomac – and the opposite number to the Confederate Army’s ‘Dixie.’

In brief remarks, Trump told the crowd the election was a ‘tremendous win’ and that a big reason he won was ‘my relationship with you (the American people).’

At the military themed ball, he praised his Pentagon chief nominee Pete Hegseth.

Trump also spoke at two other balls later in the night, another located at the Washington Convention Center and the final one located at Union Station.

The Liberty Ball was sandwiched between the Commander-in-Chief Ball and the Starlight Ball.

While the Commander-in-Chief ball was geared towards service members, the Liberty Ball is set to include a wide-range of Trump supporters. It is being headlined by Trump’s address, but, also similar to the Commander-in-Chief Ball, will include some musical performances as well. Those performances will include country singer Jason Aldean, rapper Nelly, and the Village People.

At the Liberty Ball – also held at the convention center – Trump shared another first dance with Mrs. Trump.

Several members of the Trump family then took the stage, along with Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance. They danced to ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers.

Trump told the Liberty Ball crowd it had been ‘a hell of a day.’

The balls follow a jam-packed day of events that included President Trump’s formal swearing-in ceremony, an inaugural parade at Capital One Arena, an Oval Office signing ceremony, and much more.

During the day’s events Trump signed a slew of executive orders related to border security, diversity, equity and inclusion, Jan. 6, energy and the climate, and the federal workforce. 

The number of orders he signed outnumbered how many Trump signed during his first day in office in 2017, as well as the number that President Biden signed during his first day as president.

The Liberty Ball is set to include a wide-range of Trump supporters. It is being headlined by Trump’s address, but, also similar to the Commander-in-Chief Ball, will include some musical performances as well. 

President Donald Trump pulled the security clearances of more than 50 national security officials who said Hunter Biden’s laptop had ‘all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.’

A total of 51 former national security officials released a public letter in 2020 claiming that even though the laptop did not have ‘any evidence of Russian involvement,’ it looked like a ‘Russian information operation.’

The letter came after the New York Post reported they had emails showing Hunter Biden coordinated for Joe Biden to meet with a top executive at Ukrainian energy company Burisma months before pressuring Ukrainian officials to oust a prosecutor investigating the company. 

Included on the list are former director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr., former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Hayden, John Brennan, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that federal investigators with the Department of Justice were aware that Hunter Biden’s laptop was not manipulated and contained ‘reliable evidence.’ 

Republican lawmakers including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have previously suggested withdrawing the security clearances of these officials. 

The order was one of more than 200 executive orders Trump approved on Inauguration Day, joining directives like withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement that the U.S. initially entered under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015. 

Trump previously withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term in 2020. 

Other executive orders Trump signed on day one include rescinding nearly 80 executive orders and memoranda issued under Biden, issuing a regulatory and hiring freeze upon the federal government, preventing ‘government censorship’ of free speech, and directing every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis. 

David Spector contributed to this report. 

Celebrities have taken to social media to celebrate Donald Trump being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday.

Actress Candace Cameron Bure shared photos of President Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Jan. 20 on Instagram.

‘Happy Inauguration Day!!! God Bless America,’ she captioned several photos of the president and first lady, Vice President Vance and his wife, Usha, and a video of Carrie Underwood’s performance.

Bure also took to her Instagram story to honor President Trump, Vice President Vance and share that it was ‘an exciting day.’

Actor Dean Cain shared a photo of himself in Washington, D.C., on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the caption, ‘What a day!!’

Jason Aldean’s wife, Brittany Aldean, took to her Instagram story on Monday morning to share an old photo of Trump with ‘Today’ written alongside it. Jason is gearing up to perform at the Liberty Ball on Monday night.

Brittany shared photos with her husband ahead of his big performance on Monday night.

‘INAUGURATION NIGHT,’ she began her caption. ‘What a ride it’s been! Today has made all the scrutiny worth it. Wouldn’t change a thing.’

Actor James Woods took to X on Monday and wrote, ‘I am in tears. God bless America and President Trump.’ 

Not all of Hollywood was celebrating Trump’s return to the Oval Office. Jamie Lee Curtis took to Instagram early Monday morning to share a photo with the message, ‘Chances I won’t use the word f–k in a sentence today,’ with an embroidered pie chart. The choices were ‘none’ and ‘also none but in yellow.’

The caption read, ‘Just in case you need this today. Let it out and then let’s get to work. There’s plenty to do. xo’

She also shared a photo on her Instagram story with a message about Inauguration Day by Loryn Brantz.

‘In a time of hate, love is an act of resistance. In a time of fear, faith is an act of resistance. In a time of misinformation, education is an act of resistance. In a time of poor leadership, community is an act of resistance. In a time like this, joy is an act of resistance. Resist, resist, resist,’ the message read.

Former ‘Jeopardy!’ host Mayim Bialik took to Instagram on Monday to share her thoughts on Trump’s inauguration.

‘Yes I watched the Inauguration. There’s a lot I want to say but am not saying. For now, what I do

Early Monday morning, Underwood performed ‘America the Beautiful’ at the 60th presidential inauguration ceremony, which was held this year inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

The country music star was forced to improvise after no musical cue would start.

Underwood, positioned in front of former President Biden, quickly ascertained that the accompanying instrumental track was not working, leaving her to improvise.

‘If you know the words, help me out here,’ she prefaced before singing a cappella. After her performance, she clapped for those before her who’d sung along before turning around and shaking Biden’s hand.

She then shared a moment with Trump and JD Vance before leaving the room.

Last week, Underwood, who has kept herself away from the political scene, confirmed she would perform at Trump’s inauguration.

‘I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event,’ the country superstar said in a statement.

‘I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.’

Fox News Digital’s Caroline Thayer contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s second inaugural address was a policy-oriented message ‘of hope and unity,’ experts said.  

Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, called Trump’s address ‘substantive’ when it came to outlining the president’s agenda for the next four years. 

‘Trump was policy-specific from beginning to end,’ Roberts said. ‘And I think that that’s something that’s going to be remembered as a distinguishing characteristic of the speech, because people, Americans waking up tomorrow watching the news, reading the news, will remember that Trump articulated a playbook.’

‘The golden Age of America begins right now,’ Trump said as he delivered his inaugural address on Capitol Hill Monday.

‘From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,’ he continued. ‘We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first.’

Trump notably bashed ‘the vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department’ as well as the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of both foreign and domestic issues while both the former president and vice president looked on. Trump specifically noted the North Carolina hurricane disasters and the recent wildfires ravaging Southern California. 

‘We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people,’ Trump said.

Trump’s policy-specific speech was ‘very important right now because of all of the policy failures of the Biden-Harris regime,’ Roberts told Fox News Digital on Monday. ‘And I know from the kind of work that Heritage does, not just in D.C. but in states around the country, that Trump’s base and a lot of the independent voters who voted for him this time around [were] looking for a policy plan, and he articulated it.’

‘President Trump has officially kicked off a new chapter for America,’ Jessica Anderson, president of the conservative super PAC Sentinel Action Fund, told Fox News Digital on Monday. ‘His speech was one of hope and unity as he set the tone for the next four years of prosperity, security and strength.’

Both Roberts and Anderson noted that Trump’s address also was a turning point in definitively announcing that a new administration was taking over the White House. 

‘As President Trump made clear, he is not going to waste any time getting to work for the American people, and he has already teed up dozens of executive orders on everything from securing the border to properly defining gender,’ Anderson said. 

‘It was not gratuitous in his criticism of his political opponents,’ Roberts said. ‘But you didn’t have to do much reading between the lines to understand that the sheriff is back in town. He’s going to take this country back.’

Trump’s speech also emphasized his top priority in making America ‘a nation that is proud, prosperous and free,’ echoing sentiments of the New Frontier theme. 

‘We are one people, one family and one glorious nation under God,’ Trump said. ‘So to every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for their future, I am with you. I will fight for you and I will win for you. We are going to win like never before.’ 

Roberts said, ‘I think Trump put his finger on something that’s, right now, going to be an underappreciated part of his legacy, and that is a president of American innovation.’

‘In other words, making America great again is bringing American manufacturing and economic vitality back to a level where the innovation is so tremendous you can’t even comprehend as you sit here what it’s going to be.’

Roberts said such an invocation of the ‘real spirit of America’ in Trump’s speech indicated ‘bringing American manufacturing and economic vitality back’ during his second administration, which was a theme that Roberts said both Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy incorporated into their own inaugural addresses.