Inauguration of Joe Biden
Organizers
Joint
Congressional Committee The
swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris
is being planned by the Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, a bipartisan
committee composed of United States Senators Roy Blunt (chairman), Mitch
McConnell, and Amy Klobuchar, and United States Representatives Nancy Pelosi,
Steny Hoyer, and Kevin McCarthy. The committee is overseen by the U.S. Senate
Committee on Rules and Administration. On December 8, 2020, Republican
members of the committee voted against a resolution that would have publicly
recognized Biden as the president-elect and Harris as the vice president-elect.
After Biden's win was certified by the Electoral College, Blunt and several
other Republican senators finally acknowledged him as the president-elect,
stating that he will facilitate communications with Biden's presidential
inaugural committee to prepare for the inauguration.
Presidential
Inaugural Committee The 2021
Presidential Inaugural Committee will organize several other inauguration‑related
events at the direction of the President‑elect and Vice President‑elect
of the United States. The committee is led by Jim Clyburn, Eric Garcetti,
Cedric Richmond, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Gretchen Whitmer (co-chairs), Tony
Allen (chief executive officer), Maju Varghese (executive director), Yvanna
Cancela and Erin Wilson (deputy executive directors), David A. Kessler (chief
medical adviser), and Adrienne Elrod (director of talent and external affairs).
The committee hired Stephanie Cutter and
Ricky Kirshner, who produced the largely virtual 2020 Democratic National
Convention, along with Glenn Weiss to organize the inaugural programming.
Theme and Programming
The Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies chose the inaugural theme
"Our Determined Democracy: Forging a More Perfect Union" to highlight
the inaugural ceremony as a "hallmark of American governance and
democracy" and stress the peaceful transition of power. Allen,
Biden Inaugural Committee CEO, stated that the events will "look different
amid the pandemic" but maintain inaugural traditions while engaging
Americans in a safe manner. This
includes several virtual concerts and events hosted by celebrities, featuring
live musical performances and speeches that will span five days—Saturday, January
16, 2021 through the evening of Inauguration Day. The committee's inaugural theme is
"America United" and its official YouTube channel and other social
media will feature exclusive content related to the ceremonies.
Planning On
September 3, 2020, the Capitol Police Board announced that public access to the
West Front of the United States Capitol would be restricted from September 7,
2020, to February 28, 2021, to "allow for the safe and secure construction
of the Inaugural platform, stands, and other infrastructure necessary to
support the event." Construction began on September 29, 2020. The traditional "first nail
ceremony" commemorating the start of construction of the inaugural
platform was not held because it coincided with the death and state funeral of
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice. The platform can support 1,600
spectators; however, much fewer will be permitted for this event due to
attendance restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Another 1,000 people, often choirs and musical
guests, are traditionally situated on risers above the platform; however, it is
unclear if they will be utilized for this event.
Costs Compared
to past inaugurations, the drastic reduction in crowd size at Biden's
inauguration was expected to reduce costs. Typically, presidential
inaugurations cost about US$100 million. In September 2020, prior to implementing
attendance restrictions, costs were estimated to exceed US$44.9 million, with
the District of Columbia's costs incurred in connection with the event being
reimbursed by the federal government. However, the storming of the Capitol in
January 2021, along with threats of nationwide unrest, significantly increased
the need for security. John Sandweg, a former Homeland Security Department
official, remarked that the United States Secret Service likely has a surplus
of funds because of lower-than-usual expenses during the 2020 campaign season,
when presidential nominating conventions were mostly virtual and the travel of
presidential candidates was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Security and
Counter-Terrorism Efforts The inauguration, like all ceremonies since the
first inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001, has been designated a National
Special Security Event (NSSE); however, on this occasion, the week preceding it
was included in preparations. The storming of the United States Capitol on
January 6, 2021 by a mob of pro-Trump extremists raised serious concerns about
the security of the inauguration. The
Secret Service, which provides additional security to events involving
high-profile public officials, released a statement asserting that the ceremony
will be safe. Mesh fencing and barriers
that were previously installed for the construction of the inaugural stage were
torn down in the attack. Rehearsals for the ceremony, originally set for
January 17, were postponed until January 19, citing these security concerns. Biden chose not to move the ceremony indoors, saying
he was "not afraid of taking the oath outside" during a public
ceremony as originally planned, indicating confidence in the security of the
event. Former Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco is advising the Biden team
on security-related matters for the ceremony. Following the attack and subsequent
violent threats by the same groups and individuals to disrupt Biden's
inauguration, the Secret Service launched a massive security operation that
surpassed any in modern U.S. history, with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the
deadly Capitol insurrection. On January 11, Trump approved a request for an
emergency declaration in Washington, D.C., allowing federal assistance through
FEMA to help secure the event. On the same day, the National Park Service
warned that groups who were involved in the riot "continue to threaten to
disrupt" the inaugural ceremony and posed "credible threats to
visitors and park resources". "Non-scalable" seven foot-high crowd
control barriers and jersey barriers were installed around the perimeter of the
Capitol grounds to prevent disruptions during the ceremony and deconstruction
of the platform.
On January 14,
a thirteen-page "joint threat assessment" was issued by the FBI,
Department of Homeland Security, and other federal and local agencies,
identifying domestic extremist groups as "the most likely threat" to
the inauguration, followed by foreign influence operations and extremist drone
attacks. The bulletin noted that extremists have had "ability to act with
little to no warning, willingness to attack civilians and soft targets, and
ability to inflict significant casualties with weapons that do not require
specialized knowledge". The
bulletin also noted that since the January 6 Capitol attack, U.S. intelligence
had identified Chinese, Iranian, and Russian efforts to inflame tensions and
violence, echoing prior attempts by foreign adversaries to take advantage of
disinformation spread by Trump, such as a campaign to cast doubt on the
security of postal voting. In a separate
January 18 intelligence briefing, the FBI warned law-enforcement agencies that,
although the bureau had not identified any specific plots to attack the
inaugural ceremonies, far-right extremists had discussed the possibility of
impersonating National Guard members in D.C. in order to infiltrate the
inauguration. The briefing warned of
potential threats from both "lone wolf" attackers and followers of
the extremist "QAnon" ideology.
On the same
day, the Secret Service established a Multi-Agency Command Center (MACC) to
coordinate inauguration security; established six days earlier than planned,
the MACC includes agents and representatives from 50 to 60 entities, including
government agencies (such as the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Defense
Department, Park Police, and D.C. Metro Police) and private companies
(including a gas company, CSX railroad, and Amtrak). At the request of D.C. Metro
Police, the Marshals Service will assist with inauguration security, and plans
to deputize up to 4,000 local law enforcement officers from across the nation
to assist.[35] Ahead of the inauguration, the Transportation Security
Administration increased aviation security at the three D.C.-area airports,
increasing random gate screenings, explosive detection dogs, and federal air
marshals.
National
Guard and Military Security Tens of thousands of armed National Guardsmen
were deployed to secure the city from all 50 states, three territories, and the
District of Columbia itself. Thousands
arrived a week before the event and rested in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. The Washington Post noted that the Capitol
"resembled a makeshift barracks, as hundreds of guardsmen sprawled on the
marble floor, using backpacks as pillows and with unloaded M4 rifles within
reach".
National
Guard troops in D.C.
Date National
Guard troops on duty in DC (est.)
Jan 14 7,000
Jan 16
(morning) 10,000
Jan 17
(morning) 16,500
Jan 18
(evening) 21,500
Jan 19
(morning) 25,000
The Pentagon,
through the National Guard Bureau, authorized a maximum of 21,000 National
Guard troops before increasing the authorized maximum to 25,000 on January 15. National Guard forces increased steadily in
the days leading up to the inauguration, and the maximum was reached on the eve
of Inauguration Day. The total number of
National Guard troops supporting inaugural security operations is about three
times the number activated for past recent inaugurations. The National Guard
operation is called Operation Capital Response. Major General William J. Walker
of the D.C. National Guard commanded National Guard forces in D.C., and said, "We're not taking any
chances." While most state
governors and adjutant generals agreed to requests from Defense Department
officials to send more troops, some governors declined to send additional
troops, desiring to retain capability to defend their own state capitals. The
activation of National Guard forces into D.C. was a logistically challenging
operation, with National Guard members from nearby states traveling by ground
conveys, and National Guard members from more distant states flying into Joint
Base Andrews. Arriving National Guard
units reported to the D.C. Armory to obtain Secret Service-issued credentials
needed for access to the secure perimeter.
Amid concerns
from U.S. defense officials about potential insider threats, Army Secretary
Ryan McCarthy confirmed that the FBI began to run a vetting process for the
25,000 National Guard troops to be stationed in D.C. for the inauguration; the
process involves running names through FBI databases and watchlists to detect
any red flags, such as extremist or terrorist connections or involvement in
previous investigations. Twelve Army National Guard troops were removed from
the inaugural security mission and sent home after the military determined that they
presented "security liabilities." Two were relieved of duties for
making "inappropriate comments or texts" indicating possible sympathies for
anti-government extremist groups and threats to lawmakers; one of these was
flagged within his unit's chain of command, and the other was identified
through an anonymous tip. The other ten were removed for reasons unrelated to
extremism, including pending criminal
investigations, complaints, or domestic abuse.
In addition to
securing the Capitol, National Guard forces in D.C. will also be used for
traffic control duties. Military police National Guard units were particularly
important to the effort due to their specialized training on handling civil
disturbances. The total number of troops in the city may be the highest since
the American Civil War—comparable to that during Lincoln's first inauguration,
which also featured an increased military presence—and surpassed the 13,000
guardsmen deployed during the 1968 riots.
In addition to
the National Guard troops, the Defense Department assigned an estimated 2,750
active-duty personnel in support of inaugural operations; about 2,000 to
perform ceremonial duties (military bands, color guards, salute-gun battery,
sentries, and ushers) and the remaining 750 in specialized units (including
CBRN defenses, bomb squads, logistics and communications personnel, and medical
personnel). Additionally, U.S. Coast Guard aircraft and watercraft will patrol
the air and water, U.S. Air Force fighter jets are planned to be in flight. Washington, D.C.-area airspace (which is
ordinarily highly restricted) will be even more tightly controlled.
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