Vice President Mike Pence plans to attend Biden’s inauguration, but the vice president’s public calendar does not indicate that he will attend the president’s event at Andrews Joint Base.
Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris – who will make history on Wednesday, when she is sworn in as the first woman, the first black woman and the first vice president of South Asia – will attend a religious service at St. Matthew’s Cathedral , the Apostle, in DC before the inaugural ceremonies with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, in a demonstration of unity and Biden’s intention to work with leaders from both parties.
Honoring the victims of Covid-19
Biden practically ignored Trump’s final criticisms of the democratic process in the final hours before his inauguration, by demonstrating that he will be a different president.
Moments before 400 columns of light were lit at the edges of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to honor lost lives, Biden invited Americans to cry while he suffered beside them – a moment that was extraordinary because there was nothing like it during the Trump administration . The former vice president has long been defined by his innate ability to comfort strangers he has met along the way in politics, because of his experience of dealing with tragedies in his own life – since the loss of his first wife and his little daughter 1972 car accident with the death of her 46-year-old son Beau Biden in 2015.
He summed up the lessons from these personal experiences in his tribute to the victims of Covid-19 on the eve of taking the oath: “Sometimes it’s hard to remember, but that’s how we heal,” he said at the memorial. “It is important to do this as a nation.”
Biden turns his focus on Wednesday to his plans to unite the country, to broker deals with political opponents and to transform the overly politicized response of the Trump administration to the pandemic into a functional operation that can accelerate the delivery of vaccines to Americans and correct the fragility of the US economy.
He wants to show that he will act quickly to undo some of the damage Trump has caused, with advisers preparing about a dozen executive actions that Biden can take as soon as he takes office, which include returning to the Paris climate deal and ending Trump’s ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries. The president-elect plans to extend the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to families affected by Covid-19 and sign an order demanding masks on federal properties and during interstate travel.
The opening day is different this year
The plans for the inauguration itself were overhauled not only by the pandemic, but also by the impressive breach of security at the United States Capitol on January 6. There will be no crowds on the streets or at the National Mall, as the city remains closed.
Biden plans to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, along with former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with their spouses.
But in an empty and heavily protected city, the rest of the traditional inaugural festivities will be aimed at an audience who will be having sex live at home.
The parade will be hosted by actor Tony Goldwyn of “Scandal” and will feature comedian Jon Stewart, New Radicals and “Pass the Mic” by DJ Cassidy, with performances by Earth Wind & Fire, Nile Rodgers, Kathy Sledge, The Trans Chorus by Los Angeles, The Washington Chorus and The Triumph Baptist Church Choir.
Several Americans who sought to cheer up their neighbors in the midst of the pandemic will also participate, including Dr. Jason Campbell – a doctor from Portland, Oregon, who became known as the “TikToc Doc” for his uplifting dance performances in the hospital uniform – and Jason Zgonc, a 12-year-old trumpeter from Atlanta who played during hospital staff breaks during the summer.