Inauguration: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris get to work erasing the past

US President Joe Biden has started work, and he’s already made a telling alteration to the Oval Office from Donald Trump’s divisive era.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are already hard at work erasing the past and ushering in what the commander-in-chief called a “new day in America”.

Mr Biden has signed 17 executive actions, rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change and setting up plans to ensure race, gender and LGBT equality.

The 46th president of the United States ended his predecessor Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban on Muslim and African and halted construction of the US-Mexico border wall.

Mr Biden also beefed up the United States’ COVID-19 approach, restoring the directorate for global health security and biodefence at the National Security Council that his Mr Trump disbanded, appointing Jeffrey Zients as the response coordinator and requiring social distancing and mask-wearing on all federal property. “Wearing masks isn’t a partisan issue — it’s a patriotic act that can save countless lives,” Mr Biden said, after the US passed the grim milestone of 400,000 coronavirus deaths.

The 46th US President has already signed executive 17 actions on COVID-19, equality and returning America to the Paris climate accord. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

He revoked the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and instructed all executive agencies to review executive actions that were damaging to the environment. “We’re going to rebuild our economy as well, and these are just starting points,” said Mr Biden, promising support for underserved communities. “I think some of the things we’re going to be doing are bold and vital, and there’s no time to start like today.”

His first step was changing the White House decor to underline his different priorities and beliefs, and a definitive break with the Trump era.

Framed photos of the family are now on display in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk, beside a bust of Cesar Chavez, a Latin American workers rights activist.

Mr Biden has filled the room with portraits and busts of American historical figures, including a painting of Benjamin Franklin to represent Mr Biden’s interest in following science, his office told The Washington Post.

BREAKING: Joe Biden signs executive action to rejoin Paris Climate Accord "as of today." https://t.co/qjeUynJUdz #InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/7aBLn6R8Lq

— ABC News (@ABC) January 20, 2021

Mr Biden has removed Mr Trump’s military flags and replaced them with an American flag and a presidential seal. He also removed a portrait hung by Mr Trump of populist former president Andrew Jackson, who kept slaves and signed the Indian Removal Act, which led to thousands of Native American deaths.

Instead, paintings of former president Thomas Jefferson and former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton are hung near each other as “hallmarks of how differences of opinion, expressed within the guardrails of the Republic, are essential to democracy”, according to his office.

The President has also paired paintings of former presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but will not display a bust of Winston Churchill reinstalled by Mr Trump.

The office also includes busts of Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt and a sculpture of a horse by Allan Houser of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, which once belonged to the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the first Japanese American elected to both houses of Congress.

Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have already started work on what the new president called ‘a new day in America’. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP

Ms Harris, pictured with her great niece Amara, is part of a very different administration. Picture: Mark Makela/Getty Images/AFP

Mr Biden and wife Jill at the White House, looking far more affectionate than Donald and Melania Trump usually did. (Photo by Alex Brandon / POOL / AFP)

The Bidens and their close-knit family walk the abbreviated parade route after the inauguration. Picture: Mark Makela/Getty Images/AFP

The new administration inherits a grim legacy of division, violence and distrust from Mr Trump’s presidency. But Mr Biden made it clear in his inauguration speech that he wanted to be “a president for all Americans” as the 78-year-old called for unity and vowed the Trump era of chaos was over.

RELATED: World has ‘crush’ on new press secretary

RELATED: Protests kick off across America

“We must end this uncivil war,” he said, as he swore in 1000 federal appointees and saw his first cabinet picks sworn in.

But it was the glimpses of the new administration’s softer side that were most revealing of how different the Biden years could be.

In one heartwarming tweet, the new President shared a video of his wife Jill taking his hand, and wrote: “I love you, Jilly, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have you with me on the journey ahead.”

I love you, Jilly, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have you with me on the journey ahead. pic.twitter.com/V4GUXAKSKg

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 20, 2021

Ms Harris was sworn in on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., making history as the first woman, first Black person and first person of South Asian descent to become US Vice President.

“This moment embodies our character as a nation. It demonstrates who we are,” the 56-year-old said in a tweet, declaring herself, “Ready to serve.”

Her niece Meena shared photos of her daughters wearing coats in tribute to their great-aunt, who wore a similar style as a child. In one adorable post entitled “Visiting Auntie at her new job”, Ms Harris is seen holding hands with one of the girls while dressed in her Inauguration Day purple — thought to represent bipartisanship as well as the suffragette movement.

Special coats to look just like Auntie’s. pic.twitter.com/3WHaysbj4A

— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) January 20, 2021

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, who became minority leader as the Democrats formally took control of the US Senate, praised the historic moment, saying: “All citizens can applaud the fact that this new three-word phrase ‘Madam Vice President’ is now a part of our American lexicon.”

He called for both parties to “find common ground for the common good everywhere we can and disagree respectfully where we must.”

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York, is now Senate majority leader, and the Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff were sworn in as the two Georgia senators.

“We have turned the page to a new chapter in the history of our democracy and I am full of hope,” Mr Schumer said.

The affection of the new President and Vice President’s families are in stark contrast with the sometimes awkward and frosty relations been Mr Trump and his wife and children.

Mr Biden’s granddaughter Naomi shared a happy photo of his grandchildren, who are very close to the President and his wife and speak with them regularly.

Mr and Dr Biden pose with their family in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the "Celebrating America" event at the Lincoln Memorial after his inauguration. Picture: Joshua Roberts / pool / AFP

Ms Harris, husband Doug Emhoff, her great niece Amara, and family members walk the parade route. Picture: Mark Makela/Getty Images/AFP

Ms Harris and US Second Gentleman Mr Emhoff walk up Pennsylvania Avenue to enter the White Hous. Picture: Nicholas Kamm / AFP

Villagers read newspapers featuring front-page news on Mr Biden and Ms Harris in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, southern India. Picture: Arun Sankar / AFP

Mr and Dr Biden appear on the Blue Room Balcony with family members to watch fireworks from the White House in Washington, DC oat the end of Inauguration Day. Picture: JIM Watson / AFP