The Inauguration of Joe Biden
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States will take place today at noon (EST). The inaugural ceremony will take place on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and will be the 59th presidential inauguration. Biden will take the oath of office as president, and Kamala Harris will take the oath of office as vice president. In an time of extraordinary events, Biden's inauguration will be unique, taking place amidst the greatest pandemic in over a century, and in a tine of economic, and national security crises. It follows in the aftermath of outgoing President Donald Trump's unsuccessful attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, just two weeks after a storming of the Capitol, and on the heels of Trump's unprecedented second impeachment. Threats of widespread civil unrest have led to a nationwide law enforcement response, and this as well as the pandemic have caused festivities to be sharply curtailed. Unlike most inaugurations, the only live audience will be limited to members of the 117th Congress and one guest of each of their choosing, making it more like a State of the Union address. Public health measures such as mandatory face masks, testing, temperature checks, and social distancing will be all be in place.
The inaugural themes are "America United" and "Our Determined Democracy: Forging a More Perfect Union". Biden's victory was formalized by the Electoral College vote, which took place on December 14, 2020. In accordance with Article I, Section 6 of the United States Constitution, Harris resigned her seat in the United States Senate effective noon on January 18, 2021. President Trump continued to dispute the legitimacy of the election but committed to an orderly transition of power exactly two months after losing. He announced that he would not attend the ceremony, the fourth time in history that an incumbent will not do so and the first since Andrew Johnson decided not to attend the 1869 inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant.
Upon his inauguration, Biden will become the oldest president at 78 years and 61 days, older upon taking office than Ronald Reagan, who left office at 77 years, 349 days. He will also become the first president from Delaware, the second Catholic after John F. Kennedy, and the fifteenth former vice president to serve as president. Harris will become the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American vice-president.
The drastic reduction in crowd size at Biden's inauguration had been expected to reduce costs. But the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 by a mob of pro-Trump extremists raised serious concerns about the security of the inauguration and has led to increased costs in order to provide better security. Mesh fencing and barriers that were previously installed for the construction of the inaugural stage were torn down in the attack. Rehearsals for the ceremony, originally set for January 17, were postponed until January 19, citing these security concerns. Biden chose not to move the ceremony indoors, stating that he was "not afraid of taking the oath outside" during a public ceremony as originally planned.
Following the attack and subsequent violent threats by the same groups and individuals to disrupt Biden's inauguration, the Secret Service has launched a massive security operation with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the deadly Capitol insurrection. On January 11, President Trump approved a request for an emergency declaration in Washington, D.C., allowing federal assistance through FEMA to help secure the event. On the same day, the National Park Service warned that groups who were involved in the riot "continue to threaten to disrupt" the inaugural ceremony. Seven foot-high crowd control barriers were installed around the perimeter of the Capitol grounds to prevent disruptions during the ceremony. On January 14, a thirteen-page "joint threat assessment" was issued by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and other federal and local agencies, identifying domestic extremist groups as the most likely threat to the inauguration. Their concerns included foreign influence operations and extremist drone attacks. The bulletin also noted that since the January 6 Capitol attack, U.S. intelligence had identified Chinese, Iranian, and Russian efforts to inflame tensions and violence. A January 18 intelligence briefing from the FBI warned law-enforcement agencies that far-right extremists have discussed the possibility of impersonating National Guard members in D.C. in order to infiltrate the inauguration.
President-elect Biden and his wife Jill Biden, spent the night of January 19 at Blair House, the President's Guest House—a custom for incoming presidents. Traditionally, the president-elect meets with the outgoing president at the White House on the morning of their inauguration after a church service, but this tradition will not be followed this time. Biden will attend mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington. President Trump will depart for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida this morning. He delivered his farewell address yesterday by releasing a video. Outgoing Vice President Pence plans to return to his home state of Indiana after attending Biden's inauguration.
Two hours before the start of the inaugural ceremony, actress Keke Palmer will host Our White House: An Inaugural Celebration for Young Americans, a livestream aimed at engaging youth in the day's events. Dr. Jill Biden will address viewers in a pre-recorded message, and historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Erica Armstrong Dunbar will discuss the ceremony's significance.
The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets will play ruffles and flourishes. The U.S. Marine Band will play a medley of patriotic music and perform "Hail, Columbia" (the official anthem of the vice president) after Harris is sworn in, and "Hail to the Chief" (the official anthem of the president) after Biden is sworn in. The band has appeared at every presidential inauguration since Thomas Jefferson's in 1801.
Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, along with respective first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama, will attend. Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will not, as they are unable to travel.
Senator Roy Blunt, chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, will serve as the inauguration's master of ceremonies. Leo J. O'Donovan, a Catholic priest, member of the Jesuit order, and former president of Georgetown University, will deliver the invocation. Georgia firefighters' union leader Andrea Hall will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem. National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman will recite her poem "The Hill We Climb", and Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks will perform. At age 22, Gorman will become the youngest inaugural poet. Rev. Dr. Silvester Beaman, pastor of Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, and a friend of the Bidens, will deliver the benediction.
Biden will be sworn in on a Bible, held by his wife, that has been in his family since 1893. It is the same one he used during his senatorial and vice presidential swearing-in ceremonies. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer the oath of office to Kamala Harris. Sotomayor administered Biden's oath at his 2013 swearing-in.
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer Biden's oath of office, reciting the words prescribed by the Constitution: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God."
When the oath is complete, the U.S. Army Band will play four ruffles and flourishes and the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment's Presidential Salute Battery will render a 21-gun cannon salute. Biden will then deliver his inaugural address. The presidential "nuclear football" which can authorize a nuclear attack while away from a command center, will be discreetly given to military aides of the new administration during the ceremony.
Biden has said that his speech will set out his vision to address the COVID-19 pandemic and to heal the nation. He wrote the speech with the assistance of speechwriter Vinay Reddy, senior advisor Mike Donilon, incoming Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and chief of staff Ron Klain.
The inaugural themes are "America United" and "Our Determined Democracy: Forging a More Perfect Union". Biden's victory was formalized by the Electoral College vote, which took place on December 14, 2020. In accordance with Article I, Section 6 of the United States Constitution, Harris resigned her seat in the United States Senate effective noon on January 18, 2021. President Trump continued to dispute the legitimacy of the election but committed to an orderly transition of power exactly two months after losing. He announced that he would not attend the ceremony, the fourth time in history that an incumbent will not do so and the first since Andrew Johnson decided not to attend the 1869 inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant.
Upon his inauguration, Biden will become the oldest president at 78 years and 61 days, older upon taking office than Ronald Reagan, who left office at 77 years, 349 days. He will also become the first president from Delaware, the second Catholic after John F. Kennedy, and the fifteenth former vice president to serve as president. Harris will become the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American vice-president.
The drastic reduction in crowd size at Biden's inauguration had been expected to reduce costs. But the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 by a mob of pro-Trump extremists raised serious concerns about the security of the inauguration and has led to increased costs in order to provide better security. Mesh fencing and barriers that were previously installed for the construction of the inaugural stage were torn down in the attack. Rehearsals for the ceremony, originally set for January 17, were postponed until January 19, citing these security concerns. Biden chose not to move the ceremony indoors, stating that he was "not afraid of taking the oath outside" during a public ceremony as originally planned.
Following the attack and subsequent violent threats by the same groups and individuals to disrupt Biden's inauguration, the Secret Service has launched a massive security operation with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the deadly Capitol insurrection. On January 11, President Trump approved a request for an emergency declaration in Washington, D.C., allowing federal assistance through FEMA to help secure the event. On the same day, the National Park Service warned that groups who were involved in the riot "continue to threaten to disrupt" the inaugural ceremony. Seven foot-high crowd control barriers were installed around the perimeter of the Capitol grounds to prevent disruptions during the ceremony. On January 14, a thirteen-page "joint threat assessment" was issued by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and other federal and local agencies, identifying domestic extremist groups as the most likely threat to the inauguration. Their concerns included foreign influence operations and extremist drone attacks. The bulletin also noted that since the January 6 Capitol attack, U.S. intelligence had identified Chinese, Iranian, and Russian efforts to inflame tensions and violence. A January 18 intelligence briefing from the FBI warned law-enforcement agencies that far-right extremists have discussed the possibility of impersonating National Guard members in D.C. in order to infiltrate the inauguration.
President-elect Biden and his wife Jill Biden, spent the night of January 19 at Blair House, the President's Guest House—a custom for incoming presidents. Traditionally, the president-elect meets with the outgoing president at the White House on the morning of their inauguration after a church service, but this tradition will not be followed this time. Biden will attend mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington. President Trump will depart for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida this morning. He delivered his farewell address yesterday by releasing a video. Outgoing Vice President Pence plans to return to his home state of Indiana after attending Biden's inauguration.
Two hours before the start of the inaugural ceremony, actress Keke Palmer will host Our White House: An Inaugural Celebration for Young Americans, a livestream aimed at engaging youth in the day's events. Dr. Jill Biden will address viewers in a pre-recorded message, and historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Erica Armstrong Dunbar will discuss the ceremony's significance.
The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets will play ruffles and flourishes. The U.S. Marine Band will play a medley of patriotic music and perform "Hail, Columbia" (the official anthem of the vice president) after Harris is sworn in, and "Hail to the Chief" (the official anthem of the president) after Biden is sworn in. The band has appeared at every presidential inauguration since Thomas Jefferson's in 1801.
Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, along with respective first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama, will attend. Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will not, as they are unable to travel.
Senator Roy Blunt, chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, will serve as the inauguration's master of ceremonies. Leo J. O'Donovan, a Catholic priest, member of the Jesuit order, and former president of Georgetown University, will deliver the invocation. Georgia firefighters' union leader Andrea Hall will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem. National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman will recite her poem "The Hill We Climb", and Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks will perform. At age 22, Gorman will become the youngest inaugural poet. Rev. Dr. Silvester Beaman, pastor of Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, and a friend of the Bidens, will deliver the benediction.
Biden will be sworn in on a Bible, held by his wife, that has been in his family since 1893. It is the same one he used during his senatorial and vice presidential swearing-in ceremonies. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer the oath of office to Kamala Harris. Sotomayor administered Biden's oath at his 2013 swearing-in.
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer Biden's oath of office, reciting the words prescribed by the Constitution: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God."
When the oath is complete, the U.S. Army Band will play four ruffles and flourishes and the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment's Presidential Salute Battery will render a 21-gun cannon salute. Biden will then deliver his inaugural address. The presidential "nuclear football" which can authorize a nuclear attack while away from a command center, will be discreetly given to military aides of the new administration during the ceremony.
Biden has said that his speech will set out his vision to address the COVID-19 pandemic and to heal the nation. He wrote the speech with the assistance of speechwriter Vinay Reddy, senior advisor Mike Donilon, incoming Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and chief of staff Ron Klain.