Joe Biden all set to be sworn in as 46th US President
Washington DC: Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, while Kamala Harris will take oath as the first woman Vice President on Wednesday, in the midst of growing concerns over the safety of the historic inauguration following the recent violent attack on the Capitol Hill by pro-Trump supporters.
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Biden just after the clock strikes 12 (local time) at the West Front of the Capitol - the traditional location - under the unprecedented security umbrella of more than 25,000 National Guards, who have transformed the capital into a garrison city, mainly because of the threat of violent protest by Trump's supporters.
Biden, 78, will take the oath on his 127-year-old family Bible, which will be held by his wife, Jill Biden.
Biden, who will be the oldest president in American history, will deliver his first presidential address to the country after taking oath shortly after noon. The historic speech, with the theme of unity and healing, is being prepared by his Indian-American speech writer Vinay Reddy.
Harris, 56, will make history as the first female, first Black and first South Asian American vice president when she will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court. Sotomayor administered the oath to Biden as vice president in 2013.
She will be sworn in on two Bibles - one that belonged to a close family friend named Regina Shelton and another that belonged to Thurgood Marshall - the country's first African American Supreme Court justice.
This year, however, the transition stands out for its acrimony. The process usually starts straight after the election, but it started weeks late after President Donald Trump refused to accept the result of the November 3 election won by Biden, a Democrat. Trump has said he will not attend the inauguration. Trump, a Republican, will vacate the White House hours before the inauguration and is expected to travel to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
The scaled down inauguration is expected to begin around 11 a.m. with an invocation by Leo Jeremiah O'Donovan, a Jesuit priest who is a close friend of the Biden family. Andrea Hall, the first African American female firefighter to become captain of the Fire Rescue Department in South Fulton, Georgia, will recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Singer-dancer Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem and Amanda Gorman, who became the country's first Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, will read a poem she has written for the occasion called "The Hill We Climb." She would be followed by a performance by actress-singer Jennifer Lopez.
Silvester Beaman, pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware, will deliver a benediction. After the swearing-in ceremony, Biden and Harris will attend a traditional Pass in Review with members of the military on the East Front of the Capitol, signifying the peaceful transfer of power to a new commander-in-chief.
Biden, Harris and their spouses will visit Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where they will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After the wreath ceremony, they will head to the White House, where they will get a presidential escort. That will kick off the virtual "Parade Across America," featuring performances from all 56 states and territories.
The resiliency, culture and heroism of Black Americans and the African diaspora will be the central theme of a virtual event that will celebrate the nation's diversity on the eve of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is slated to speak at Tuesday's event, We Are One, which will also honour the historic nature of her being the first Black and South Asian woman to become US vice president.
Black voters nationwide helped deliver Biden's presidency, overwhelmingly supporting him from the start of his White House bid. Black-led organising work across the nation galvanised voters of colour and contributed to historic turnout in key battleground states. Tony Allen, CEO of the inaugural committee, said the programming will honour acts of resilience, heroism, and commitment to unity from Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities "as the coalitions that make up our nation come together to celebrate a new chapter in our history."
