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Welcome to the JOE BIDEN presidency. “Democracy has prevailed,” he declared at the open of his inaugural address.

THE CALL FOR UNITY: “We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. … We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.”

SCENES FROM THE INAUGURATION, PART 1 (via Ryan): Below the platform where Biden celebrated democracy’s survival, condemned the Jan. 6 riot and called for unity, current and former members of Congress and other dignitaries milled about. Trump critics like PAUL RYAN and JEFF FLAKE seemed so happy you could detect their smiles through their masks. The name of MIKE PENCE was repeatedly invoked. (Donald who?)

But the distance between Biden’s call for unity and the reality of the politics in Washington could be felt in two conversations I had, one with Rep. AL GREEN, a progressive Democrat from Houston, and one with JIM JORDAN, the Trump superfan from Ohio.

On Green’s mind: establishing a Department of Reconciliation to address racism and other forms of discrimination in America; passing H.R. 1, the Democrats’ aggressive government reform bill; and passing comprehensive immigration reform. He was elated that DONALD TRUMP had just minutes left in his presidency.

Jordan, who seemed a tad awkward about the fact he was here at all — after all, he led the charge to overturn the results in the House — said that he had just recently talked to Trump to offer advice about pardons. (He suggested but wouldn’t confirm that Trump especially wanted to discuss the last-minute pardon of STEVE BANNON.) When asked about immigration reform, Biden’s first bill where he hopes to build a bipartisan coalition of support, Jordan noted that the GOP is even less interested in a deal than it was the last time a bill was tried and failed in 2013. He was more excited to discuss 2024, and said he’s already told Trump that he wants him to run again.

After Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS spoke and Garth Brooks sang “Amazing Grace,” the performer asked the small crowd gathered before the still scarred Capitol Dome to sing the final verse. I turned around and watched the members of Congress give it a shot. It was faint, but through their masks you could detect a signal just above a hum from Green and Jordan and Ryan and the rest of official Washington.

SCENES FROM THE INAUGURATION, PART 2 (via Rachael): Barack Obama giving Biden a fistbump as he took the podium … Hillary Clinton greeting Pence with a handshake, while Chuck Schumer chatted up the Bushes … The Obama and Harris families taking selfies together (h/t PBS’ Lisa Desjardins) … Poet Amanda Gorman making people cry … Brooks putting the crowd in a trance with an a cappella version of “Amazing Grace” that had Obama crying out “Amen!” after he wrapped.

Even a handful of congressional Republicans who voted against certifying Biden’s win attended: In addition to Jordan, Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) was on hand. “This is as close to pageantry as we get in America,” Jordan told the congressional pool. “This day — and the State of the Union address. I just think it's important that … you attend those events.”

There were frequent reminders of the Jan. 6 riots. EUGENE GOODMAN, the Black Capitol Police officer who distracted the mob while senators snuck out of the chamber through another door, escorted Harris as she walked up the steps into the Capitol Building … Rep. ANN KUSTER (D-N.H.) was among several House Dems who wore body armor under their jackets, disguising her newly purchased protection under a bright red jacket and pearls. (h/t Sarah Ferris)

BIDEN’S FIRST @POTUS TWEET, at 12:36 p.m.: “There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face. That's why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families.”

WHO ELSE WE SPOTTED IN THE CROWD:

— THE FORMERS: Barack and Michelle Obama, George W. and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Dan Quayle.

— FROM THE SENATE: Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao, Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) (looking grumpy), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Chris Coons (D-Del.).

— FROM THE HOUSE: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Reps. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).

— SCOTUS: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Via Ben Leonard: “3 oldest Supreme Court justices skip inauguration due to pandemic”

P.S.: Send your best celebrity sightings to [email protected].

TRUMP’S PARTING WORDS, on his way out of the White House this morning: “We love you. We will be back in some form. … We’ve gotten so much done that nobody thought would be possible, but I do want to thank Congress. And I want to thank all of the great people of Washington, D.C., all of the people that we worked with to put this miracle together. So, have a good life, we will see you soon. Thank you.” The Trumps have since landed in Palm Beach. More from Quint Forgey

— “Trump leaves parting Oval Office letter for Biden,” by Nick Niedzwiadek: “Trump spokesman Judd Deere confirmed Wednesday that the president had written a letter to President-elect Joe Biden and left it for him in the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk. The Trump White House did not divulge the contents of what Trump left for Biden to read.”

— @meridithmcgraw: “It was uncertain if he would leave one after bucking other transition traditions, but Trump was personally encouraged to by people around him like Leader [KEVIN] MCCARTHY, I was told.”

AT THE LAST MINUTE — Trump issued a pardon in the last hour of his presidency to ALBERT PIRRO, Judge Jeanine’s ex-husband. He told The Daily Beast he was “in shock”

WHOA — “‘Really quite shocking’: Inside the ugly transition at the Pentagon,” by Lara Seligman and Bryan Bender: “The Pentagon blocked members of President Joe Biden’s incoming administration from gaining access to critical information about current operations, including the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, upcoming special operations missions in Africa and the Covid-19 vaccine distribution program, according to new details provided by transition and defense officials.

“The effort to obstruct the Biden team, led by senior White House appointees at the Pentagon, is unprecedented in modern presidential transitions and will hobble the new administration on key national security matters as it takes over positions in the Defense Department on Wednesday, the officials said.”

OUT WITH THE OLD — “Surgeon General resigns at Biden’s request,” WaPo: “U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams resigned at President-elect Joe Biden’s request on Wednesday, as the incoming president sought to make a symbolic break with his predecessor’s covid-19 response. …

“Biden has nominated Vivek H. Murthy, surgeon general under President Obama and a close adviser of the president-elect, to be the nation’s new surgeon general, but Murthy first needs to undergo Senate confirmation hearings, which have yet to be scheduled. Three people with knowledge of the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it said the incoming Biden administration would choose an acting surgeon general as soon as Wednesday, bypassing Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz, a career civil servant.”

2022 WATCH — “Sen. Gary Peters Emerges As Key Prospect To Run DSCC,” HuffPost: “Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is considering tapping Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.) to run the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, after more than half a dozen members of his caucus have encouraged him to do so … Sources emphasized that no final decisions have been made yet.”

CONFIRMATION BATTLES — “In win for Austin, top Senate Democrat agrees to back waiver,” by Connor O’Brien: “The incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday that he'll back Lloyd Austin to be defense secretary and support a waiver for him to take the job, a victory for the nominee who still has doubters in both chambers and both parties.

“‘Lloyd Austin is a decorated leader who has led a distinguished career and is exceptionally qualified,’ said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). ‘He has demonstrated a clear commitment to civilian control of the military.’”

FILLING OUT THE FOREIGN POLICY TEAM — “Robert Malley being considered for special envoy on Iran,” Jewish Insider

UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS — “Biden team fears rocky transition may have revealed only ‘tip of the iceberg,’” by Tyler Pager, Alice Miranda Ollstein, Caitlin Emma and Eric Geller: “[T]here is a fear among Biden’s team that the roadblocks they encountered during the chaotic transition shielded them from understanding the full scope of the problems at various agencies, and that the state of the executive branch is far worse than they understood …

“At the National Security Council, Trump officials were reluctant to share information about who was even on the staff, and at the Department of Defense, requests for information were either ignored or only partially answered. At the Office of Management and Budget, the practice of making career officials available for the incoming administration to craft their budget was disregarded, leaving Biden officials frustrated that their budget will likely be delayed. And at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the lack of interest in assisting the Biden transition was stated plainly.”

THE VP’S ROLE — “For Kamala Harris, an Influential Voice and a Decisive Vote,” NYT: “[W]hile dealing with the Senate will be important to her job, she has not been assigned a specific issue portfolio, at least at the outset, and will instead serve as a governing partner to Mr. Biden on all of his top priorities. If fulfilled, that mandate could make her among the most influential vice presidents in history. In one sign of how much she may be involved in legislative campaigns, Ms. Harris has been in touch with mayors around the country to preview Mr. Biden’s coronavirus relief package.”

PANDEMIC CHALLENGES FOR BIDEN — “Biden’s Covid fight meets a big test: Red-state politics,” by Joanne Kenen and Rachel Roubein: “Biden’s plan to encourage better masking, social distancing, testing and contact tracing — all necessary to slow the spread — could gain traction with governors whose states are overwhelmed. About a dozen red-state governors have vowed to defy any effort to mandate statewide face coverings, saying it should remain a personal choice or up to local communities.

“But some might now do more to encourage masks, especially with President Donald Trump’s science-defying approach out of the way — along with his tendency to attack governors who disagree with him.”

CLIMATE FILES — “What the world wants from John Kerry,” by Ryan Heath, Zack Colman, Karl Mathiesen, Kalina Oroschakoff and Maura Forrest: “The demands fall into two categories, according to interviews with more than 20 officials and advocates across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

“The first: that the U.S. Congress backs Kerry’s rhetoric with tough domestic emissions reduction legislation. The second: that Kerry himself plays the role of the world’s climate cheerleader, prodding laggards and increasing financial aid to convince reluctant governments to set aggressive climate goals, such as reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.”

ET Q, BRUTE? — “QAnon believers grapple with doubt, spin new theories as Trump era ends: ‘We all got played,’” WaPo: “When one QAnon channel on the chat app Telegram posted a new theory that suggested Biden himself was ‘part of the plan,’ a number of followers shifted into open rebellion: ‘This will never happen’; ‘Just stfu already!’ ‘It’s over. It is sadly, sadly over.’ ‘What a fraud!’

“But while some QAnon disciples gave way to doubt, others doubled down on blind belief or strained to see new coded messages in the Inauguration Day’s events. Some followers noted that 17 flags — Q being the 17th letter of the alphabet — flew on the stage as Trump delivered a farewell address.”

CLICKER — “Raphael Warnock and the Solitude of the Black Senator,” NYT Magazine: “In a noteworthy turn of history, former Senator Joe Biden of Delaware — who served as vice president to the first Black president and will now serve as president with the first Black vice president — occupied the same Senate seat as Willard Saulsbury, the man who first objected to seating [Hiram Rhodes] Revels in 1870.

“The echoes of eras past resound in present-day America, where Black Americans’ participation in the nation’s leadership is seen by some not as a fulfillment of its founding ideals but as an existential threat to them. This is the history that Raphael Warnock stepped into when he declared his run for the Senate.”

BOOK CLUB — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s ace political reporter GREG BLUESTEIN is writing a book, “How the Peach State Turned Purple,” covering the epic 2020 and 2021 elections in Georgia, for Viking.

SPORTS BLINK — “Dream close to being sold, taking Loeffler out of WNBA,” AP: “The Atlanta Dream are close to being sold, ending defeated U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s contentious stint as a WNBA owner. … Players around the league have called for Loeffler to sell her 49% stake in the Dream after she wrote a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert over the summer objecting to the league’s initiatives to advocate for racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.”

KNOWING THE PARDONED — “Meet the flamboyant D.C. developer who got a last-minute pardon from Trump,” WaPo: “Cowboy boot-wearing D.C. real estate magnate Douglas Jemal was among those pardoned by President Trump late Tuesday, absolving him of a 2007 conviction for wire fraud. Jemal is one of the most influential and flamboyant developers of D.C. real estate, having rebuilt big chunks of downtown, Columbia Heights and New York Avenue NE. … Jemal, a Brooklyn native, is close with the family of Jared Kushner.”

AFTERNOON READ — “The Education of Josh Hawley,” by Ruairí Arrieta-Kenna and Emily Cadei in POLITICO Magazine: “Conversations with more than a dozen of Hawley’s Stanford classmates and a half-dozen faculty members who knew him all raise versions of the same question: What happened to the person they knew? … [T]hey paint a portrait of a studious intellectual who was ambitious but principled.

“At a largely liberal, secular campus, Hawley was open about being a conservative Christian—but not dogmatically so. Many say they simply can’t square the man they knew with the one they’ve seen splashed across their TV screens and social media feeds in the past few weeks. … It’s possible, if not likely, that Hawley’s rebranding is just another instance in a long line of moves to position himself, ultimately, for the presidency.”

TO CLARIFY an item from this morning’s Playbook: Newsmax was NOT the only network to broadcast Trump’s farewell address. They aired it in its entirety first. Fox News later carried it on Neil Cavuto’s show, after first airing LIVE footage of Biden arriving at Joint Base Andrews.

LOOK WHO’S AROUND TOWN: A-ROD posing in front of a JLO ad at the Sephora in Georgetown. He also took a tour of the Georgetown campus. Instapic

SPOTTED at an All In Together virtual event Tuesday night celebrating the women of the 117th Congress: Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) and Dana Bash, Lauren Leader, Amna Nawaz, Robyn Patterson, Emily Wilkins, Jean Card and Ashley Davis.