TRUMP SWEARING-IN | Trump's big day underway: First, church before swearing-in

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and reality television star who upended American politics and energized voters angry with Washington, will be sworn in today as the 45th president of the United States, putting Republicans in control of the White House for the first time in eight years.

"It all begins today!" Trump tweeted at daybreak, before heading to a morning church service with his family as light rain fell. "THE MOVEMENT CONTINUES - THE WORK BEGINS!"

Ebullient Trump supporters flocked to the nation's capital for the inaugural festivities, some wearing red hats emblazoned with his "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.

But in a sign of the deep divisions Trump sowed during his combative campaign, dozens of Democratic lawmakers were boycotting the swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill.

While Trump came to power bucking convention, he was wrapping himself in the traditional pomp and pageantry that accompany the peaceful transfer of power.

From church, the president-in-waiting will head to the White House to meet President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama for tea. The Trumps and the Obamas will travel together in the presidential limousine for the short trip to the Capitol for the noon swearing-in ceremony.

Trump supporters started lining up at security checkpoints before dawn to take their places in the quadrennial rite of democracy.

"I'm here for history," said Kevin Puchalski, a 24-year-old construction worker who drove from Philadelphia. "This is the first president that I voted for that won."