“We’re so back,” Sen. Mike Lee shared to X as Donald Trump entered the U.S. Capitol rotunda on Monday to take his second oath of office, this time as the 47th president of the United States.
Lee, Utah’s senior U.S. senator, joined freshman Sen. John Curtis in the rotunda during Trump’s inauguration. Other attendees included former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and some of the wealthiest men in America — including Elon Musk, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
Curtis congratulated Trump and Vice President JD Vance from his seat in the audience.
“I look forward to this new chapter in America’s history — a moment marked by high expectations from the American people to restore our economy, hold authoritarians like China accountable, secure our border, and ensure a more prosperous future for Utahns and all Americans,” Curtis said while posting a selfie from the rotunda. “Success will depend on forging strong allies and alliances—both at home and abroad. Let’s get to work!”
Repeating a phrase from Trump’s inaugural address in her congratulations to the president and vice president, Rep. Celeste Maloy said, “The golden age of America begins now!”
Maloy, of Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, also posted a photo from inside the Capitol, a “POV” (point of view) of “The Apotheosis of Washington” — which was painted in fresco on the canopy of the rotunda in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi.
Rep. Burgess Owens, from the 4th Congressional District, said, “President Trump in Back. America is back.”
“With President Trump in the White House, America will enter a new golden age of growth and security at home, and peace through strength abroad,” the congressman said in a statement, adding that Trump “has a historic mandate” from Americans to “Make America Great Again.”
The president begins his second term in office four years and two weeks after he told supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, that “We fight like hell.” Those supporters, upset that Trump lost reelection in 2020, then rallied to the U.S. Capitol, where they fought with federal law enforcement officers, broke into the Capitol and vandalized parts of the building.
Trump was impeached for inciting the attack, but the U.S. Senate voted not to convict Trump, meaning he was still eligible to run and again hold the nation’s highest elected office.
Utah’s then-U.S. Sens. Lee and Mitt Romney split their vote, with Lee, who in 2016 had tried to prevent Trump from being nominated by Republicans, voting against conviction.
Lee was reelected in 2022, and Romney, who twice voted to impeach Trump, has since retired.
“Special morning to be in our nation’s capital,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who also attended the inauguration, posted from Washington on Monday. “On this Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Day, we pray for peace and the beloved community. And we pray for Pres. Trump, his family and all who lead us.”
The post included a photo from the north wall of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Etched into the wall is a quote made by the civil rights leader during an anti-war rally in 1967.
“It is not enough to say ‘We must not wage war.’ It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but the positive affirmation of peace,” the remark from King reads.
Utah Republican state leaders congratulated Trump on his return to office.
“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for our nation,” wrote Senate President Stuart Adams. “With your leadership, we look forward to addressing the challenges ahead and seizing the opportunities for a brighter future for all Americans.”
House Speaker Mike Schultz said the second Trump term “brings renewed hope to Utah.”
“We look forward to a productive and collaborative four years with the Trump administration,” he posted.
This story is breaking and may be updated.
