Washington Monday's inauguration ceremony for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance will take place inside the Capitol. dangerously low temperaturesTrump made the announcement on social media on Friday.
“The country is experiencing an arctic explosion,” Trump wrote Truth on Social. “I do not want to see people hurt or injured in any way. … Therefore, I have ordered the inaugural address, in addition to the prayers and other speeches, to be given in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was Ronald Reagan in 1985 That too because of the very cold weather.”
Temperatures are expected to be in the teens and low 20s on Monday with gusty winds. Weather experts are also predicting snowfall a day before.
The Rotunda is beneath the Capitol dome and is commonly used for congressional ceremonies and celebrations.
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Trump said the Capitol One area in Downtown DC will be open for supporters to watch the ceremony live, and he will join the crowd after being sworn in. The area will also host the Presidential Parade. The venue can accommodate about 20,000 people, a fraction of the number who came to Washington for the inauguration.
Dignitaries and other VIP guests will be brought into the Rotunda, Trump said, but space will be extremely limited.
“It will be a very beautiful experience for everyone and especially for the big TV audience!” Trump wrote in his post.
A senior inaugural official in Washington previously told CBS News that holding the ceremony indoors “was a call by the president-elect and we will respect that.” Two law enforcement sources previously told CBS News that a “rotunda plan” for the swearing-in ceremony was “under consideration” and had been in the works for months. cnn first reported That the inauguration will be moved indoors.
According to , when Reagan took the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda in 1985, the temperature was 7 degrees. National Weather ServiceDue to cold wind, it is feeling colder than 0 degrees.
Those conditions forced organizers to move the ceremony indoors. According to images from that day, the Capitol Rotunda was packed, with standing room only available to VIPs.
library of congress
Reagan was actually sworn in on January 20, the day before the January 21 inauguration festivities, as January 20 fell on a Sunday. Chief Justice Warren Burger administered the oath of office to Reagan on both days.
“There are not enough words to express my thanks for the great honor you have done me,” Reagan said in his second inaugural address. “I will do my best to be worthy of your trust.”
AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File
In May of that year, several high school marching bands were scheduled to perform in the inaugural parade held at Walt Disney World's EPCOT, and Reagan spoke.
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Contributed to this report.
