White House

Outgoing President Joe Biden had one final act up his sleeve Monday morning, issuing a final round of pardons ... for more family members.

Just minutes before President-elect Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, the White House issued a statement declaring the pardons of Biden's two brothers, his sister and other family members -- to protect them from politically motivated prosecutions after he leaves office, the statement said.

JB caught quite a bit of flak for pardoning his son Hunter Biden a few weeks ago, on gun possession and tax charges, stating a similar motivation -- that his son was being unfairly targeted due to his father's political status.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is sticking to his signature style -- and nothing, not even freezing weather or Donald Trump’s inauguration can make him budge!

Fetterman strolled through D.C. Monday in shorts and a hoodie, looking more like he was heading to a barbecue than bracing for politics' biggest day of the year.

It’s unclear if Fetterman plans to switch up his look later or if he’s just built differently -- but to give you an idea of how cold it was, they had to move the entire inauguration indoors to the Capitol Rotunda to escape the chill.

Conor McGregor and the Paul brothers have apparently put their beef aside in the name of Donald Trump ... 'cause the trio of combat sports stars are currently chummin' it up at DT's inauguration!!!

The guys -- who've exchanged plenty of inflammatory remarks about each other over the years -- were all smiles as they headed toward Capitol Hill on Monday for The Donald's big afternoon in D.C.

McGregor actually sat next to Jake and Logan's mom while they were on their way to the festivities ... a sight that comedian Theo Vonn made a hilarious joke about.

President-elect Donald Trump shook hands with his predecessor, Joe Biden, greeting him on the White House steps in his historic return to power Monday morning ... and Biden said "Welcome home."

First Lady Jill Biden and Melania Trump also exchanged pleasantries as the first families met for pre-inauguration tea, a tradition during the transfer.

Vice President-elect J.D. Vance shook hands with Kamala Harris at the White House just before Trump's arrival, as official events get underway to mark the peaceful transition of power.

TikTok is toast in the U.S. ... at least for now.

The social media giant, best known for its users sharing real-life videos, went dark for 170 million Americans late Saturday night.

As this was going down, the China-based company issued two statements with the first informing everyone that it would shut down Sunday -- but soon after a second message was released, saying that a U.S. law banning TikTok had unfortunately taken effect.

Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony is relying on a private security company ... and Uncle Sam is paying a pretty penny to keep the incoming President safe.

TMZ obtained federal procurement docs that show the Secret Service has hired a company called Arcus Group LLC to help out with Monday's inauguration. The company scored an $8.1 million contract for the job ... and the firm is tasked with securing the perimeter.

Sounds like taxpayer money is being put to good use here ... Arcus Group boasts they are specialists in temporary security perimeters for high profile situations ... and Trump's inauguration fits the bill.

Jimmy Carter -- the 39th President of the United States, a renowned philanthropist and a Nobel Peace Prize winner -- has died.

The news of his death was confirmed by his son, Jimmy Carter III also known as Chip to the Washington Post on Sunday.

The Carter Center tells TMZ ... Jimmy passed away at home surrounded by family. He was the longest living former president in history when he passed away.

Flavor Flav made sure the final President Joe Biden-hosted White House Christmas Party went out with a bang -- spreading holiday cheer.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained footage of Flav rubbing shoulders with Joe and First Lady Jill Biden,  and we're hearing he was nothing short of the life of the party, where Keegan-Michael Key and Wilmer Valderrama also attended.

President Biden got tripped up during his speech when he saw Flav and then apologized, saying, “Sorry, he distracted me."

Paris Hilton’s not done yet -- after her bill cruised through the Senate last week, she’s already gearing up for the next step and heading back to Capitol Hill.

In an open letter posted Monday, Paris opened up about the power of speaking out about her own traumatic experiences at a youth treatment facility when she was younger, urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to push through her "Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act” before the Christmas break.

Paris revealed she’d carried a "deep, unspoken pain" for most of her life ... explaining she previously thought staying silent about what happened to her would convince her it never happened. But, she discovered that silence doesn’t heal -- it only protects those who caused the harm.

Congressman Tim Burchett wants the U.S. government to step up with military options against drones ... saying he wants to see a few of the crafts shot out of the sky.

A photographer caught up with the representative from Tennessee Thursday... and, Burchett told him America's government is being tested by outside forces -- and, the government is failing the test.

Burchett tell us the government is too comfortable throwing their hands up and saying they've got no idea what the drones are or who is piloting them ... seemingly referencing White House national security communications adviser John Kirby admitting they haven't been able to corroborate any sightings of alleged drones over New Jersey.

Paris Hilton just hit a major milestone -- after tirelessly lobbying for children in the welfare system, her legislation was officially passed by the U.S. Senate overnight.

Not only that, but Hilton’s "Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act" passed unanimously with all 100 senators on board -- making it an absolute win for legislation deeply personal to her after she bravely shared her own painful experiences of abuse at a young age.

The bill still needs to go through the U.S. House of Representatives to reach President Biden’s desk ... but Paris is riding high!

The Biden administration is ready to clean house ahead of Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office ... setting up a pricey cleaning service ahead of the handoff.

According tofederal financial documents obtained by TMZ ... the WH has tapped cleaners to do a deep clean of the West Wing, East Wing, and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door. The scrub-down will cost a whopping $140,930 ... and actually kicked off last month ahead of Thanksgiving.

The White House is also shelling out an additional $46,800 to have the carpets thoroughly cleaned in the aforementioned spaces ... noting the cleaning was needed before the 2025 Inauguration.

The White House is all decked out for Christmas, going all-in on the festive vibes to make sure President Joe Biden’s last holiday there is one to remember.

Feast your eyes on these pics from inside the White House -- 83 Christmas trees are scattered all over the place, with the star of the show being the towering Fraser fir tree in the Blue Room, all decked out and shipped in from North Carolina.

Three hundred volunteers spent the past week transforming the White House into a winter wonderland, decking out every nook and cranny with tinsel, ornaments, twinkling lights, and all the festive flair you could dream of!

John Shahidi, who manages the popular podcasters the Nelk Boys, is the driving force behind Donald Trump considering adding a modern twist to the White House Press Briefing room ... and he's telling us how this media landscape-altering idea came about.

John joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and explained why the President-elect seems responsive to his grand idea to credential bro podcasters for the administration's upcoming daily media briefings.

Trump hit the podcast circuit hard during the election and John says that helped him gain traction with younger generations of voters, particularly men, who consume podcasts as opposed to traditional news outlets ... like the ABCs, CNNs and NBCs of the world.

There could be game of musical chairs in the White House Briefing Room, because it sounds like Trump may be replacing some of the traditional media reporters with bro podcasters.

Donald Trump Jr. was chitchatting with cohost Michael Knowles on his podcast, "Triggered With Donald Trump Jr.," when the subject came up.

Don Jr. said, "I was on the plane with my father ... and we were talking about the podcast world and some of our friends and Rogan and guys like you." The convo was about adding them, other podcasters and other non-traditional media types to the Briefing Room.

Donald Trump is on his way back to the White House ... and his former chef hopes he cuts back on the crap and really takes eating healthier seriously.

Chef Andre Rush tells TMZ ... 78-year-old Trump is not the man he was in 2016, and it is imperative he eats better to make sure he's as healthy as possible for his age, and the demands of the job.

And, if DT is not going to do it on his own ... it's up to the kitchen staff to get creative when it comes to meals -- basically, tricking him into eating healthier via tasty dishes, AR tells us.