WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president Monday, returning to power with a promise to end America’s decline and to “completely and totally reverse” the actions of the man who drove him from office four years ago.

Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, promised to act swiftly after the ceremony. Dozens of executive orders were already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development, and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.

Declaring that government faces a “crisis of trust,” Trump said in his inaugural address that under his administration “our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced.”

Trump claimed “a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal,” promising to “give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom.”

“From this moment on,” he added, “America’s decline is over.”

The executive orders are the first step in what Trump is calling “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.”

Other goals will prove more difficult, testing the patience of supporters who were promised quick success. Trump has talked about lowering prices after years of inflation, but his plans for tariffs on imports from foreign countries could have the opposite effect.

Frigid weather rewrote the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony outside the Capitol from the National Mall were left to find other places to view the festivities.

At the Capitol, Vice President JD Vance was sworn in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a Bible given to him by his great-grandmother. Trump followed moments after noon, using both a family Bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administered his oath.

A cadre of billionaires and tech titans — including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai — were given prominent positions in the Capitol Rotunda, mingling with Trump’s incoming team before the ceremony began. Also there was Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is expected to lead an effort to slash spending and federal employees.

Trump and his wife, Melania, were greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception. It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.

“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car. The two presidents, who have spent years bitterly criticizing each other, shared a limo on the way to the Capitol. After the ceremony, Trump walked with Biden to the building’s east side, where Biden departed via helicopter to begin his post-presidential life.

Trump’s inauguration realized a political comeback without precedent in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.

But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.

Trump used his inaugural address to repeat his claims that he was targeted by political prosecutions, and he promised to begin “fair, equal and impartial justice.”

He also acknowledged that he was taking office on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which honors the slain civil rights hero. Trump said, “We will strive together to make his dream a reality,” and he thanked Black and Latino voters for their support in November.

Now Trump is the first person convicted of a felony — for falsifying business records related to hush money payments — to serve as president. He pledged to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. He has said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.

Trump said he would lead a government that “expands our territory,” a reference to his goals of acquiring Greenland from Denmark and restoring U.S. control of the Panama Canal.

He also said he would “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” Musk, the owner of a space rocket company with billions of dollars in federal contracts, cheered and pumped his arms above his head as Trump spoke.