The inauguration of the president of the United States is traditionally a ceremony loaded with symbolism. The Constitution gives some brushstrokes of an act also governed by uses and customs and which, on this occasion, will be marked by the absence of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, the reinforcement of security and the sanitary measures derived from the covid-pandemic. 19.
The protagonists
This Wednesday, January 20, Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. He will do so flanked by his wife, Jill Biden, and before the president of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, and shortly after his vice president, Kamala Harris, is sworn in, who will be the first woman to occupy the second highest political position in the North American country.
The date
George Washington took office on April 30, 1789, and until 1933, presidential terms began on March 4. The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, approved in 1933, brought the ceremony forward to January 20, in an attempt to reduce the period of ‘impasse’ from the elections.
Thus, the terms of the president and vice president expire at noon on January 20, so that is when the ceremonies should be held. Exceptions to the public act are only contemplated when the date falls on a Sunday, which passes to the 21st.
Speech
The Constitution also includes in its articles the text that the future tenant of the White House is obliged to recite: “I solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully exercise the office of President of the United States and that I will do everything possible to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The place
Washington and, more specifically, the Capitol, has been the recurring scene for the inaugurations of the presidents of the United States – more than 50 inaugurations have taken place before the headquarters of the main legislative body.
The pandemic has marked the preparations on this occasion, but the absence of strict rules on the ceremony allows them to be adapted to the circumstances. Ronald Reagan, for example, had to start one of his two terms indoors due to inclement weather.
The guests
The Joint Commission of the Congress on Investiture Ceremonies is responsible for coordinating the acts of January 20, as well as the number of attendees. Traditionally, the organizers hand out some 200,000 invitations, but on this occasion the congressmen will only be able to attend with one guest and there will be no public.
Trump will not be on this short list, although by his own decision. Two days after a group of supporters stormed the Capitol, he confirmed that he would not attend, something that his vice president, Mike Pence, will do, however, as a gesture of respect for Biden.
Trump is the fourth president in history -after John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Johnson- who does not attend the inauguration of his successor and, to find the last absence of this caliber, one must go back more than 150 years.
Safety
The , during the joint session of Congress to certify the votes of the last elections, has focused on the security of Biden’s inauguration ceremony, classified as a National Special Security Event (NNSE, for its acronym in English).
Several agencies have mobilized to establish a security perimeter and more than 20,000 members of the National Guard will ensure that the ceremony is carried out correctly. As the organizing commission recalls, “the great American tradition of an inauguration ceremony has occurred in times of peace and in times of turmoil”, so it should not be different in this case.
The show
Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem during the ceremony, which is also scheduled for a performance by Jennifer Lopez. Both artists thus pick up the baton from Aretha Franklin, who performed at Barack Obama’s first inauguration, and from Benyoncé, who did so at the second.
On the other hand, the actor Tom Hanks will present a television special that, under the title of ‘Celebration in the United States’, will offer performances and a message of support during prime time. It will be broadcast by the majority of large chains in the country.
the move
Biden was born in Pennsylvania, although he has spent most of his life in Delaware, where he has his residence. His presidential victory, however, also means his move to the White House, a building that George Washington ordered built in the 19th century and in which every president since John Adams has lived in the 1800s.
The building, baptized with its current name by Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, has 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms and six floors, although the bulk of the political work takes place in the West Wing, where the Oval Office is located and what is known as the Conference Room. situations.
first decisions
Joe Biden will begin his presidential term with a declaration of intent in the form of a battery of measures, ranging from reincorporating the United States into the Paris Agreements against climate change and the World Health Organization (WHO) to suspending the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico.
“Changing the course” of the coronavirus pandemic is one of his priority objectives, for which Biden, who has already received the two doses of the covid-19 vaccine, will urge the population to wear a mask for at least 100 days. He will also issue an executive order to mandate its use at all federal facilities.
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