Today, Jan. 6, 2025, marks four years since thousands of President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the nation’s Capitol, intent on stopping the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
Now, four years later, the very same man who told the mob to “march peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol will be certified as the 47th president of the United States.
2024 was an unprecedented political year. As we look ahead to 2025, here are some key moments to watch for in the weeks and months after Trump takes office.
Inauguration Day
Trump will be officially sworn in on Jan. 20 as per the 20th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Joining him will be Vice President-elect JD Vance. The inauguration will take place outside of the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C., with power being formally transferred to Trump at noon Eastern Standard Time.
Confirmation hearings
The U.S. Senate will immediately get to work on fulfilling their role of advice and consent. Each one of Trump’s cabinet level nominees will be heavily scrutinized in public confirmation hearings by senators from both parties.
While the Republicans do hold a majority in the Senate, there are still questions about whether some of Trump’s nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of National Intelligence and Kash Patel for FBI director, will be confirmed by the Senate.
Address to Congress
It is customary for the new president to be invited to give an address to a joint session of Congress within the first 100 days of their presidency, known to many as an informal State of the Union address.
While no address has yet been announced, there is a strong possibility that Trump will be offered the opportunity by the Republican congress at some point within his first 100 days in office.
Wisconsin spring elections
Wisconsinites will go back to the polls April 1 to elect a replacement for retiring State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. This will be the first statewide election post-inauguration and will be the first State Supreme Court election since liberals flipped the majority in 2023 with the election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz.
Republicans are seeking to flip the court back to a conservative majority. Former Republican State Attorney General Brad Schimel and Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford have both declared their candidacies.
This story was written by Sahil Gupta. He can be reached at [email protected].
