Washington Week (video) | PBS

For just the 45th time in American history, the United States demonstrated the smooth transition of power on Friday as President Donald Trump took the oath of office. Trump’s first address as president laid out a dark vision for an America that is deeply divided. "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now," Trump said.

Two of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees were confirmed by the Senate Friday -- Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Trump's one-time rival Hillary Clinton attended the inaugural ceremony and received a standing ovation during the post-inaugural luncheon. Thousands of people are expected to march in Washington to protest Trump's treatment of women.

President-elect Donald Trump's vow to have better relations with Russia continue to cast a cloud over his transition to the White House as the 45th president. Trump's repeated praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin has put the president-elect at odds with the intelligence community and members of his own party on Capitol Hill.

As President Obama prepares to leave office after eight years, he delivered an emotional farewell address in his hometown Chicago. Later in the week, Obama honored his "brother" Vice President Joe Biden with the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Meanwhile incoming President Trump has promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

U.S. intelligence agencies briefed President-elect Donald Trump on a new report on cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee and government agencies that found Russia committed the attacks to help Trump's campaign. Plus, the Republican-led Congress returned for a new session and started to debate two key Trump campaign promises.

It's just two weeks from Inauguration Day, but Donald Trump still has over 600 Senate-confirmable nominees to announce. His skeleton White House staff includes 22 top-level advisers, many of whom lack experience in executive governing. Next week, the Senate will begin confirmation hearings on several cabinet officials.

The Obama administration announced new economic sanctions against Russia in response to the Kremlin's involvement in computer hacking meant to disrupt the presidential election. President-elect Trump said the U.S. should "get on with our lives." While Russia has not yet retaliated for the sanctions, Vladimir Putin may respond in the future.

President-elect Donald Trump has made Twitter his primary means of communication, and his tweets have global implications. Yochi Dreazen explains how world leaders respond to Trump's Twitter feed. Looking back at the 2016 presidential election, President Obama told a former adviser that he believes he could have beaten Trump if he had been able to run for a third term.

President Barack Obama was elected by promising hope and change, but during his eight years in the White House he learned that governing isn’t always easy. His domestic agenda focused on a weak economy and expanding access to health care. His foreign policy doctrine was about negotiation over conflict. Despite successes, Obama's critics can point to setbacks like the rise of ISIS.

Stories about President Obama's personal legacy including the details of an iconic photograph of a young black boy touching the hair of the first black president in the Oval Office. First Lady Michelle Obama also made her mark on the White House and presidency during the past eight years, but she's ruled out her own future run for office.

Election Day was over a month ago, but the Electoral College will make the results official on Monday. Despite talk of faithless electors deciding to not vote for Trump, so far only one person has signaled his intention to stop Trump. It would take 37 electors to switch their support from Trump to throw the election to the House of Representatives.

U.S. intelligence agencies blame Russia for a series of hacks meant to undermine the presidential election. President Obama said the U.S. will respond in a yet-to-be-determined way. But President-elect Donald Trump still questions the intelligence assessment and the belief by some that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the attacks to bolster Trump's campaign.

In the weeks after the election Donald Trump has continued to use social media to circumvent tradional media and send a message to businesses. This week, he signaled his intention to cancel a contract to build a new presidential plane. While the stakes are higher as president-elect, the strategy is similar to the campaign when he told voters he is on their side and not politics as usual.

President-elect Donald Trump continued to announce the team that will help implement his new agenda in the White House, but several of his picks are raising concerns among his critics. What do Trump's choices signal about his key policy priorities and the shift in American foreign policy when he is sworn in as president?

Donald Trump ran an unconventional campaign, and the one person who was by his side everywhere he traveled was his 27-year-old press secretary Hope Hicks. Bloomberg Politics reporter Jennifer Jacobs first met Hicks in the early days of Trump's campaign in Iowa. Hicks had previously worked for Ivanka Trump's fashion company and had no experience in politics.