Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America today at noon in a ceremony unlike any in the country’s 244-year history.
The typical inaugural festivities will be sobered this year by the still very-real threat of the COVID-19 virus that has killed more than 400,000 Americans and the Capitol Hill riots perpetuated by Trump supporters last week, which left 5 dead and Washington D.C. in a state of security lockdown.
No crowds will fill the National Mall to welcome Biden, and there won’t be black-tied politicos floating down the streets of D.C. high on champagne fumes. Police and military presence will be stronger than ever, and President Donald Trump will not be present to hand off the White House keys to his successor, an atypical move.
Trump left the White House without much pomp early Wednesday morning for Florida after issuing last minute pardons and commutations to 143 people, many of whom he considered allies.
There will, however, be an inaugural ceremony, set to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Just before noon, Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office and at noon, they will officially become President Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris.
Harris will make history as the country’s first female, Black and Indian-American vice president. She will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer, the first Latina Justice, on two bibles: One bible belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice; the other belonged to Regina Shelton, whom Harris considered a mother figure.
Biden will then be sworn in on his family bible by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. He will then immediately deliver his inaugural speech, likely to focus on unity and the urgent need for COVID-19 relief.
The event is set to take place outdoors on the Capitol’s West Front, but the ceremony will be tempered. There will be no cheering crowds, and even some congresspeople, typically allowed to crowd into the rafters, will be asked to watch the ceremony online or on TV.
Inaugural organizers have installed about 200,000 flags from each state and territory on the National Mall to represent the U.S. citizens who were unable to come to D.C. today.
While Trump won’t be in attendance, which Biden has called “a good thing” and “one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on,” there will be plenty of others to make up for his absence. Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton will be sitting behind Biden.
Inauguration schedule
It will be a long day for Biden, and the weather in Washington D.C.—cold, wet, and windy—does not appear to be cooperating with the series of outdoor events.
Biden began his morning by attending church services, as he is known to do ahead of important occasions. A number of Republican leaders, including House leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell skipped Trump’s departure ceremony to attend 8:45 a.m. mass with Biden at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in downtown Washington, D.C. Biden’s family and Harris and her family also attended.
After church, the group is expected to leave for the Capitol and the swearing in ceremony, which will be followed by a “pass in review” with the military. According to inauguration organizers, the event is “a long-standing military tradition that reflect[s] the peaceful transfer of power to a new Commander-in-Chief.”
Biden, Harris, and their families will then travel to Arlington National Cemetery with the Obama, Clinton, and Bush families for a wreath-laying ceremony before being escorted to the White House. There, Biden plans to sign 17 executive orders into law.
Finally, at 8:30 p.m. Biden and Harris will attend the “Celebrating America” inaugural primetime program, hosted by actor Tom Hanks and featuring performances by Lady Gaga, John Legend, and Bruce Springsteen.
Executive Orders
Biden will waste no time on his first day. He plans to sign into action nearly 20 executive orders, which range from rejoining the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement to immediately ending any border wall construction and the Keystone XL pipeline. Biden will also extend the pause on student loan payments to September 30, extend eviction and foreclosure and eviction moratorium, and begin an “100 days masking challenge” which will be a nationwide face mask and social distancing mandate on all federal property.