Pelosi: Small Inauguration Event ‘Because of COVID’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks to reporters in Washington on Jan. 15, 2021. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday explained the rationale for why there will be a small inauguration next week.

“For a long time now, weeks, it has been determined that we would have a very small inauguration because of COVID,” Pelosi told reporters during Friday’s press conference, referring to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. She added that “in order to have the distancing and the rest on the platform and then some people down below, it would be necessary to limit it.”

“We’re excited about nominating a new President of the United States, but not at the risk of people’s health and well-being and, indeed, their lives,” Pelosi remarked. “So this is always going to be small,” she said before mentioning the Capitol protests and breach on Jan. 6.

The breach last week means it is “necessitated by security to have more security but hasn’t changed the nature of the swearing-in,” the California Democrat remarked. “I think it’s important for people to know that,” she continued. “This is not a concession.”

President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that he will not attend the Jan. 20 event in Washington D.C. That was before Twitter deleted his account, and Twitter moderators claimed that Trump’s tweet about not attending the inauguration provides context for more protests and violence.

Pelosi, meanwhile, stated that retired Lt. General Russel Honoré will lead a review of the Capitol’s “security infrastructure” following the Capitol riots.

“To protect our Democracy, we must now subject the security of the U.S. Capitol Complex to rigorous scrutiny,” Pelosi said in a statement. “To that end, I have asked Lt. General Russel Honoré (Ret.), a respected leader with experience dealing with crises, to lead an immediate review of the Capitol’s security infrastructure, interagency processes and procedures, and command and control.”