LIVE: The Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C.

(Jan. 20) Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking control of a nation wracked by a deadly pandemic, persistent unemployment and burgeoning social unrest to cap the most acrimonious transfer of power in modern American history.

Biden, 78, took the oath of office shortly before noon from Chief Justice John Roberts on the steps of the U.S. Capitol -- the very spot overrun two weeks ago by Donald Trump loyalists, who waged a deadly attack seeking to block the Democrat’s ascent to the presidency.

“This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day,” Biden said as he began his inaugural address. “A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve. America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.”

The new president’s inauguration marked a stark reversal for the American electorate. After four turbulent years governed by Trump -- who had never held public office -- voters turned to a man who spent more than four decades in Washington, including 36 years as a U.S. senator from Delaware and eight years as vice president to Barack Obama.

“We’ve learned again that democracy is precious, democracy is fragile,” Biden said, a reference to his predecessor’s effort to overturn the election. “At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

Yet Biden enters office facing historic challenges: Covid-19 has now claimed more than 400,000 lives in the U.S. and rising infection rates in many parts of country threaten to overwhelm hospitals and continue to pummel the economy. Meanwhile, Biden’s ability to muster a broad-based response to the pandemic risks being constrained by the narrow majorities Democrats hold in the House and Senate.

He has already asked lawmakers to pass a $1.9 trillion bill that would provide additional funding for vaccination programs, extend unemployment benefits, send stimulus checks to many Americans, and raise the minimum wage -- the opening salvo in what aides say will be a sustained push to restore the nation’s physical and economic health through ambitious spending programs.

“We have much to do in this winter of peril and significant opportunities,” Biden said. “We’ll press forward with speed and urgency.”

He pleaded for Americans of all political persuasions to unify, acknowledging that “it could sound to some like foolish fantasies.”

“Today on this January day, my whole soul is in this, bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation, and I ask every American to join us in this cause,” he said.

Biden on Wednesday became the oldest U.S. president to be inaugurated. For a man who has spent decades roaming the halls of official Washington, the capstone of his political career unfolded unlike any in recent political history.

For one, Biden was joined on stage by his trailblazing vice president. Kamala Harris, 56, became the first woman, the first Black person, and the first Indian-American to serve in the role. The former California senator was sworn in shortly before Biden by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

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