Inauguration of Joe Biden
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was the 59th inauguration and marked the commencement of the only term of both Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president. Biden took the presidential oath of office, before which Harris took the vice presidential oath of office.
The inauguration took place amidst extraordinary political, public health, economic, and national security crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic; outgoing President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, which provoked an attack on the United States Capitol on January 6; Trump's second impeachment; and a threat of widespread civil unrest, which stimulated a nationwide law enforcement response. Festivities were sharply curtailed by efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the potential for violence near the Capitol. The live audience was limited; members of the Congress attended with one guest of their choosing, resembling a State of the Union address. Public health measures such as mandatory face coverings, testing, temperature checks, and social distancing were used to protect participants in the ceremony.
"America United" and "Our Determined Democracy: Forging a More Perfect Union"—a reference to the Preamble to the United States Constitution—served as the inaugural themes. At of age, Biden became the oldest person to assume the presidency. However, four years later, in 2025, Donald Trump was re-inaugurated at of age, surpassing Biden's record.
Context
The inauguration marked the formal culmination of the Joe Biden's presidential transition that began with his election on November 3, 2020, him becoming the president-elect. Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris were formally elected by the Electoral College on December 14, 2020. The victory was certified by an electoral vote tally by a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. In accordance with ArticleI, Section6 of the United States Constitution, Harris resigned her seat in the U.S. Senate effective noon on January 18, 2021. Trump repeatedly disputed the legitimacy of the election, but committed to an orderly transition of power exactly two months after losing.Biden, at age 78 years and 61 days upon taking office, became the oldest sitting U.S. president, older than Ronald Reagan, who left office at 77 years and 349 days. Upon his inauguration, he also became the first president from Delaware, the second Catholic, after John F. Kennedy, and the first person since George H. W. Bush to have held the office of both president and vice president. Harris became the first woman to hold a nationally elected office, and the first African American and first Asian American vice president.
Organizers
Joint Congressional Committee
The swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris was planned by the Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, a bipartisan committee composed of United States Senators Roy Blunt, Mitch McConnell, and Amy Klobuchar, and United States Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Kevin McCarthy. The committee is overseen by the 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 and Harris's win was certified by the Electoral College, Blunt and several other Republican senators finally acknowledged him and her as the president-elect and vice 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 organized several other inauguration‑related events at the direction of the president‑elect and vice president‑elect of the United States. The committee was led by Jim Clyburn, Eric Garcetti, Cedric Richmond, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Gretchen Whitmer, Tony Allen, Maju Varghese, Yvanna Cancela and Erin Wilson, David A. Kessler, and Adrienne Elrod. 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, said the events would "look different amid the pandemic" but maintain inaugural traditions while engaging Americans in a safe manner. This included several virtual concerts and events hosted by celebrities, featuring live musical performances and speeches that spanned five days—Saturday, January 16, 2021, through the evening of Inauguration Day. The committee's inaugural theme was "America United" and its official YouTube channel and other social media featured 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, far fewer were 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, but these were not used at full capacity 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 two weeks prior to the inauguration on January 6, 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 storming of the United States Capitol on January6 raised concerns about the security of the inauguration. However, Biden chose not to move the ceremony indoors, indicating that he believed a public, outdoor ceremony was necessary to demonstrate strength. In response, organizers and officials made an unprecedented effort to secure the Capitol during the ceremony and deter people from visiting Washington, D.C., during the week of the inauguration over concerns of political violence. While several individuals were arrested near the Capitol in the days preceding the event for carrying illegal weapons, disobeying police, and trespassing, and a fire near a homeless encampment prompted an evacuation of the grounds, the ceremony proceeded without incident. A heightened security presence remained in the city through the end of the month.Security operations
The inauguration, like all ceremonies since the first inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001, was designated a National Special Security Event. However, following the attack and reports of subsequent threats to disrupt Biden's inauguration and incite nationwide unrest, the Secret Service launched a security operation that surpassed any in modern U.S. history. The Secret Service established a Multi-Agency Command Center to coordinate security—formed six days earlier than planned—composed of agents and representatives from many government agencies and private companies. Combined efforts included:- Activating more than 25,000 National Guard forces into the city—which may have been the highest since the American Civil War—as a part of Operation Capitol Response, with members arriving from all U.S. states, three territories, and the District of Columbia itself.
- Installing "non-scalable" seven foot-high crowd control barriers and jersey barriers with razor wire atop around the perimeter of the Capitol grounds.
- Deputizing up to 4,000 local law enforcement officers from across the nation via the Marshals Service.
- Strengthening aviation security at the three D.C.-area airports, increasing the use of random gate screenings, explosive detection dogs, and federal air marshals, and tightening D.C. airspace restrictions. Many major airlines also banned incoming travelers from checking firearms on board flights.
- Assigning 750 active-duty military personnel to specialized units, and aircraft and watercraft, including U.S. Coast Guard cutters and U.S. Air Force fighter jets.
- The House Oversight Committee asked 27 transportation and hotel companies, including Avis, Hertz, Marriott, and Hyatt, to implement screening procedures to prevent the use of their services by domestic terrorists targeting the inauguration.