State Department website mistakenly shows Trump's presidential term ending early

It might have been mischief or a site glitch. Either way, it was incorrect.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

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Corinne Reichert

Jan. 11, 2021 12:58 p.m. PT

2 min read

Donald Trump bio page on the State Department website — The website of the State Department shows an incorrect end date for President Trump's time in office.
Screenshot by Corinne Reichert/CNET

The US Department of State website was changed Monday to say that Donald Trump's term as US president "ended" on Jan. 11 at 7:40 p.m. ET, which is incorrect. BuzzFeed News reported that the notation might have been done deliberately by a "disgruntled employee," and others reported it could have been a site bug, since something similar has happened before on the site.

The State Department site also erroneously had Vice President Mike Pence's biography reading that his term ended Jan. 11 at 7:41 p.m.

Trump's term in office runs through Wednesday, Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in. Pence's term also runs until Jan. 20.

The incident comes less than a week after a day of violence and chaos at the US Capitol, which was breached by a mob seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. The insurrection failed, and Biden's presidency was confirmed by the Senate.

The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on invoking the 25th Amendment or alternatively voting to impeach Trump this week amid calls by members of Congress for Trump to resign for his actions connected to last week's unrest.

The changes on the State Department website began showing at around 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 11. As of 3:45 p.m., Trump's biography page had been taken down completely.

"We're sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties," the error message reads. "Please try again in a few moments." Pence's biography page is still up.

According to BuzzFeed News citing unnamed sources, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has kicked off an investigation into the issue.

The White House, the State Department and the Department of Justice didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.