The Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to extreme cold weather.
Instead, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn in inside the Capitol Rotunda, which connects the Senate and House and consists of paintings of moments in U.S. history.
“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th,” he added.
Outgoing President Joe Biden, members of Congress and some other dignitaries and notable guests will be able to view the ceremony from inside the Capitol Rotunda. But even if they are standing shoulder-to-shoulder packing the Rotunda as in 1985, many will be forced to watch the swearing-in from elsewhere.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which organizes the Inauguration and events surrounding it, said in a statement that it moved the swearing-in in accordance with Trump’s wishes.
This would not be the first time an inauguration was held at a location other than the Capitol steps.
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan held his swearing-in at the White House and Rotunda due to cold temperatures. There was no parade. In 1963, President Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office on Air Force One after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The parade, traditionally down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, will instead be at Capitol One Arena, home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. The arena will also be used for people to watch the swearing-in. Trump is scheduled to hold a rally there on Jan. 19.
There will be no change to the other events, such as the inaugural balls, and therefore, they will proceed as planned, Trump said.
The balls are the Commander in Chief Ball, the Liberty Inaugural Ball, and the Starlight Ball.
On Jan. 18, there will be receptions, fireworks, and a dinner hosted by Vance at Trump’s golf club in Sterling, Virginia.
The following day, ahead of the rally, Trump will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, where members of the military are buried. Following the rally, he will host a candlelight dinner.
On Inauguration Day, before the swearing-in ceremony, Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, will have tea with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden after a church service.
Earlier Friday, Trump’s inaugural committee announced that, like his first inauguration, Trump would take the oath of office on a family Bible given to him by his mother as well as the Bible used by President Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration in 1861. Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn in on a family Bible given to him by his maternal great-grandmother.
