After all the controversies and the act of near insurrection on Capitol Hill by Donald Trump’s supporters last week, the transition to the new presidency will take place on Wednesday, 20 January, in a traditional affair, with or without Trump. However, the ceremony will be shortened due to the regulations in place for the pandemic. Kamala Harris will become the first woman to serve as Vice President in the history of the United States. As the city is virtually under siege, a 20,000-strong presence of National Guard soldiers will strictly monitor the event.
The day traditionally begins with attending a morning worship service, which was introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and continues till this day. The outgoing President accompanies the President-elect to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony. Should he not be present, he would be the first President to skip his successor’s swearing-in ceremony in all of 152 years.
The inauguration is a National Special Security Event (NSSE) involving federal agencies and law enforcement officials who create a wide security perimeter with road closures and barricades around the Capitol. The secret service had already given its clearance although the recent failure to protect the Capitol from chaos, injury and death because of an orchestrated insurgency will go down as a historical fact. A seven-foot fence designed to prevent scaling around the periphery of the US Capitol will be in place with National Guard members, the D.C. Police and Capitol Police and US Army.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee has requested and received permits for Lafayette Square, portions of the Mall from 3rd to 14th Streets, the area surrounding the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, among others, for the inauguration, but the iconic parade would be virtual and all in-person balls stand cancelled. Congress members have been restricted to only two tickets, against the 130,000 they are typically instructed to distribute among their constituents, because of public health concerns.
During the last inauguration, it was observed that more than 95% of hotel rooms had been filled across the district, but this time it may be a fraction of that number. More hotel accommodation seems to have been grabbed by the security agencies. The city already had an extended public emergency order through 21 January, making the administration to issue curfews, close businesses, halt transit and dip into emergency funds to ensure a safe environment for the ceremony and later through the evening.
The Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, had asked Lt Gen (retired) Russel Honore, who helped coordinate the military efforts around Hurricane Katrina, to conduct “an immediate review of the Capitol’s security infrastructure, interagency processes and procedures and command control”. Can such an act be geared in India for the likely fallout, right or wrong, from the protesting farmers who are threatening to create a scene on our Republic Day?
Traditionally, the President-elect arrives at the White House and then proceeds to the Capitol Building with the outgoing President. However, Donald Trump’s presence is not assured. The only component in this ceremony, mandated by the United States Constitution, is the recitation of the presidential oath of office, typically administered by the Chief Justice. This happens around noon, followed by the inaugural address.
The 20th Amendment to the Constitution requires that the term of each elected President and Vice President begin at 20 January noon of the year after the election. Every President has to take the oath of office and they cannot assume their positions otherwise.
Symbolically, it marks the peaceful transfer of power from the current President to the next. Inauguration Day will be all the more important this year, as Biden ascends to the presidency at a time when political division has threatened the nation’s democratic institutions and his predecessor has gone to extraordinary lengths to stay in power.
Just before the President-elect takes the oath of office, the Vice President-elect will step forward on the inaugural platform and repeat the oath of office to ensure that the Vice President can potentially be elevated to President if an unforeseen event (death, illness, etc.) caused the President-elect, to not be able to assume the office. The Twelfth Amendment establishes that the Vice President must meet all the qualifications of being a President.
The oath of office of the Vice President of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the Vice President of the United States takes upon assuming the Vice-Presidency but before he or she begins the execution of the office. It is the same oath that members of the United States Congress and members of the President’s cabinet take upon entering office. Harris will be the nation’s first female Vice President. She will swear to “support and defend the Constitution” and “faithfully discharge the duties of the office”.
Since the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the ceremony has been held at the west front of the United States Capitol facing the National Mall with its iconic Washington Monument and distant Lincoln Memorial.
Every US President since George Washington has delivered the inaugural address. Trump had spoken for 16 minutes, making a vow to break the “established order” and “make America great again”. But for Biden, the focus is likely to be on the important areas of his policies: the pandemic, the economy, climate change, healthcare and the need for uniting the Americans again, whether they voted for him or not. “With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation,” Biden said in a statement. “It’s time for America to unite.” Biden has also unveiled a $1.9 trillion plan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, boosting financial aid for Americans and businesses.
Biden and Vice President Harris will then lay a wreath and conduct a Pass in Review inspection of the troops at the Capitol. They will be joined by their partners, Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will join Biden for the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington Cemetery after the inauguration.
The Bidens will receive a presidential escort from 15th Street to the White House after the swearing-in. The escort will include representatives of every branch of the military.
In 1989 from the beginning of January, I was interning with NBC News in New York as part of my Fulbright Fellowship programme through Syracuse University. Tom Brokaw was the MD of the network and the anchor of the Nightly News with Bill Wheatley as the Chief Producer. I was a budding news producer with the DD network and the two graciously gave me the honour to be a part of their coverage team which specially flew to Washington, in a sizeable number, and, as other networks, took the roof of a state building along the Pennsylvania avenue, overlooking the Capitol, and made a temporary studio and elaborate technical arrangements for a live coverage. The inauguration of George H.W. Bush as the 41st President of the United States was held on Friday, 20 January 1989, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 51st inauguration and marked the commencement of the only term of both George H.W. Bush as President and Dan Quayle as Vice President. The TV team was housed in Sheraton on K Street, just behind the White House. There was a mighty competition amongst the major US networks then, as it is now, of being the leader in important telecasts—something that we too witness in our country, trying to make more sense out of nonsense and hyperbole.
The inauguration is also a notable fundraising opportunity for the incoming President. Even though traditional events like balls have been cancelled, Biden’s inaugural committee has offered special “VIP participation” to corporations and individuals who can use the opportunity to curry favour with the new administration.
Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez along with Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi and Demi Lovato will also take the stage at the inauguration ceremony. Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem while Lopez will give a musical performance. Moreover, Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute TV special, ‘Celebrating America’, which will air right after the swearing-in ceremony on all major networks, including social media and Amazon Prime.
For those who will watch the ceremony on the screen, local bars and restaurants have planned special commemorative dishes, beers and cocktails. Biden’s choice and his own state Delaware’s most famous food export is Capriotti’s, a national chain of sandwich shops that began in Wilmington. When the first Capriotti’s opened in D.C. in 2013, Biden had remarked to reporters, “This is going to settle, once and for all, the best sandwich in America is out of Wilmington, Delaware.” It went with him to the White House. The “Bobbie” is Capriotti’s best-selling Thanksgiving sub, filled with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.
Television had already brought such events into our living rooms, and with the pandemic making things take place virtually, the trend has further changed, not only in terms of attendance but how expansively and lavishly they are organised.