As the day unfolded: Joe Biden signs first executive orders to rejoin Paris climate accord and end Muslim travel ban

Thanks for following along with us on this historic day as the United States swore in its 46th President, Joe Biden. Thankfully, the day's events concluded without any of the violence that was feared following the recent insurrection at the US Capitol.

We'll leave you with some final analysis from US correspondent Matthew Knott, on how Biden swiftly got to work on sweeping away his predecessor Donald Trump's policy legacy and plans to roll back more, with a total of 53 executive actions, over the next 10 days.

And if you missed all the ceremonial action early this morning, Farrah Tomazin has recapped the highlights for you.

You can also check out our photo gallery, and of course read back over the blog!

This is Jenny Noyes signing off.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged the incoming US administration to return to a 2015 nuclear agreement and lift sanctions on Tehran, while welcoming the end of "tyrant" president Donald Trump's era.

US President Joe Biden said in September the United States was open to rejoining the pact if Iran returned to strict compliance.

"The ball is in the US court now. If Washington returns to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, we will also fully respect our commitments under the pact," Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting.

"Today, we expect the incoming US administration to return to the rule of law and commit themselves, and if they can, in the next four years, to remove all the black spots of the previous four years," he said.

Read more on the reaction from Rouhani and other world leaders here. 

Senator Chuck Schumer earlier delivered his first speech as Senate majority leader, saying he is "hopeful" after the inauguration of Biden and Harris but that the United States still faces a host of challenges.

He also vowed that the chamber will "do business differently" now that Democrats are in charge.

As he was introduced as Senate majority leader for the first time, Schumer paused, then exhaled. "I need to catch my breath," he said. "So much is happening."

Schumer then hailed the victories of Biden and Harris, welcomed the chamber’s three newest members — Warnock, Ossoff and Padilla — and delivered a defiant message to the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol two weeks ago.

"It takes more than a band of hooligans to bring our democracy down," Schumer said. "Our democracy, though tried and tested, shall long endure. Let it be a message to those terrorists who desecrated this temple of democracy that they will never prevail."

He noted that the new Congress begins its work "in the wake of violence and division, hatred and mistruth; in the shadow of disease and economic hardship, a warming planet, an unequal society."

"Today the threat to our democracy from the presidency itself has ended, but the challenges we face as a nation remain," he said.

Schumer also took some time to note his own barrier-breaking role as the first New York-born Senate majority leader. He described himself as "a kid from Brooklyn, the son of an exterminator and a housewife, descendants of victims of the Holocaust."

"That I should be the leader of this new Senate majority is an awesome responsibility — awesome in the biblical sense," he said, adding: "As the majority changes in the Senate, the Senate will do business differently. The Senate will address the challenges our country faces head-on and without delay, not with timid solutions, but with boldness and with courage."

Speaking after Schumer, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, in his first floor speech as Senate minority leader, congratulated Biden, Harris and the three new senators.

"I congratulate my friend from Delaware and look forward to working with him as our new president wherever possible," McConnell said of Biden. "Our country deserves for both sides, both parties, to find common ground for the common good everywhere that we can and to disagree respectfully where we must."

Washington Post

The main concern of journalists covering presidential inaugurations used to be guarding against the January chill. But for the swearing-in of Joe Biden today, some reporters and photographers took along protective gear used in combat zones.

A sniper team that was part of the security detail for the inauguration.Credit: AP

Two weeks after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in a siege that resulted in five deaths, and aware of warnings of extremist violence and the presence of National Guard troops, news organisations turned to journalists with experience in reporting on conflict zones to cover what is usually a political pageant.

"We realised that we had the same conversations about what to do during the uprisings in Libya or Cairo or fighting in Baghdad or coup attempts here or there," said Ron Haviv, a photographer who has covered wars and political violence around the world for three decades.

Read the full story by Tiffany Hsu and Katie Robertson for The New York Times here.

Australia's ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, has described today's inauguration ceremony in Washington DC as "a bit chilly" but "quite uplifting".

Speaking on 2GB with host Deborah Knight, Mr Sinodinos praised "the combination of poetry, prayer, song, the nature of the speech, this was very much Joe Biden's speech" as "bringing Americans together."

Asked by Knight whether Biden's immediate move to sign 15 executive orders overturning a number of key Trump policies including the withdrawal from the Paris agreement and his Muslim travel ban was likely to be divisive, Mr Sinodinos pointed out that Biden won the election.

"He made these promises during the election," Mr Sinodinos said. As Australian politicians might put it, "he's got a mandate for it."

Mr Sinodinos said "a lot will depend on how he does things" and part of Biden's objective will be to reach across to the other side and bring people together.

He said Biden has a reputation in the Senate as a deal-maker and has the capacity to do so, although the current environment in the US is tough, and Biden will want to reach out to Americans who are attracted to fringe politics on issues like racism.

"I'm not being Pollyanna-ish about it," he said.

Asked if Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese's criticism of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his refusal to call out then-president Trump for inciting the recent violence at the Capitol, Mr Sinodinos said he wouldn't get into domestic political debates, but said Australia "had a good relationship with the Trump administration, we were able to do some good things with them including in our own region."

He said the best approach when dealing with allies "is always behind the scenes, first and foremost".

But he said the "change of tone" Joe Biden will bring is "going to be very positive for what we countries can do together" on "challenges like the rise of China."

Mr Sinodinos said he didn't get a chance to speak to Trump towards the end of his presidency. "He was pretty busy in his last days."

The final act of Inauguration Day is kicking off now with a prime time (in the US, that is) TV package, Celebrating America. Hosted by Tom Hanks, it's set to feature performances from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Justin Timberlake.

Watch it live below:

The US Senate has approved Avril Haines as the Director of National Intelligence, the nation's top intelligence job, making her the first of President Joe Biden's nominees to be approved.

The vote was 84-10, with all the "no" votes coming from Republicans, Reuters reports.

So who is she?

President Joe Biden's nominee for director of national intelligence Avril Haines.Credit: Getty Images

Avril Haines’ journey to the top of the national security world reads more like a movie script than the path of a woman about to make history as America’s first female spy chief.

Long before US President Joe Biden nominated her last year to be his Director of National Intelligence, Haines mastered judo at an elite academy in Tokyo, learnt to fly planes while studying physics in Chicago and opened a bookstore in Baltimore that occasionally hosted readings of erotic literature.

But it was Haines' work for the Obama administration — during which she helped oversee a controversial drone strike program — that solidified her professional reputation, firstly as the deputy director of the CIA and later as Obama’s deputy national security adviser.

"She’s a fierce advocate for telling the truth," Biden said as he announced her appointment.

"If she gets word of a threat coming to our shores, like another pandemic or foreign interference in our elections, she will not stop raising alarms until the right people take action. People will be able to take her word because she always calls it as she sees it."

Haines was confirmed by the Senate on the first day of the Biden administration, becoming the first woman to lead America’s intelligence community — a coalition of 17 organisations ranging from the National Security Agency to the FBI and the State Department.

Read more about her here.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has wished US President Joe Biden well, describing the relationship between Australia and the United States as "the best of mates" and "best of allies".

"We have been through everything together over a very long time," Mr Morrison told reporters in regional Queensland on Thursday.

"And this is a relationship between Australia and the United States that has been stewarded by prime ministers and presidents of all political persuasions for a very long time and to the great benefit and the great success of both countries."

He said the relationship was more important today than at any time since the end of World War II.

"I appreciate the sort of very warm sentiment that we're already getting back from the Biden administration and the many challenges that we have to work together," he said.

"There is a lot of work for using to, whether it is on climate, energy, international security and, importantly, regional security here in the Indo-Pacific.

"These are all the big issues that President Biden and I will continue to address together as prime ministers and presidents always have."

He said he particularly "warmly" congratulated Vice-President Kamala Harris on her inauguration, describing her election as a "historic moment" and as "a father of daughters, you can only celebrate".

It's now approaching the end of Inauguration Day in Washington, DC, with the Biden-Harris administration quick to get to work after the ceremonial aspects were completed. If you're just tuning in, or keen for a recap, here's what's happened so far:

• Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States at 4am AEDT, bringing to an end Donald Trump's tenure in an inauguration ceremony that mixed pop and politics.
• In his inaugural speech, Biden called on Americans to overcome their divisions, declaring in his first address in office that “without unity, there is no peace”.
• Biden has signed his first executive orders, moving swiftly to dismantle Trump's legacy on his first day in office and issued a warning to about 1000 political appointees, telling them he would have a zero tolerance approach to disrespectful behaviour.
• Kamala Harris has become the first woman, the first black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice-presidency.
• The Democrats have taken control of the Senate, with Harris swearing in three new senators – Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff from Georgia, and her appointed replacement in California, Alex Padilla.
• In her first White House briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki stressed the importance of "truth and transparency" in her role and said rebuilding trust would be a "central" concern.
• Trump is the first outgoing president to skip his successor’s swearing-in ceremony in 152 years. While Trump left the White House for Florida early on Inauguration Day, former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton joined Biden for a visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
• The inauguration unfolded at the Capitol two weeks to the day after it was battered by an insurrectionist siege, and which is now encircled by security forces.

But the day is not over yet - from 12.30pm AEDT, Tom Hanks will host a packaged-for-TV broadcast with scheduled performances by superstar Democrat boosters Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, singer/pianist John Legend, the Foo Fighters, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake.

US President Joe Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, is giving her first briefing from the White House, stressing the importance of "truth and transparency" in her role, which she said was to communicate policies and work being done across the Biden-Harris administration.

Psaki told reporters "there will be times when we see things differently in this room" and "that's OK".

"That's part of our democracy. And rebuilding trust with the American people will be central to our focus in the press office and in the White House every single day."

She noted the 15 executive orders already signed by Biden earlier that afternoon, including the reversal of Trump's decision to withdraw from the World Health Organisation and Paris Climate Accord.

She touched on upcoming COVID-19 response and relief steps, and said the President had launched a 100-day masking challenge, "asking Americans to do their part and mask up for 100 days".

Reporters can expect a return to daily briefings under Biden, she said.