The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump said his inaugural ceremony will be moved indoors due to the extreme cold set to grip Washington, D.C., on Monday.
“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday.
“Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda,” he wrote.
Trump’s post included screenshots from the National Weather Service forecasting “dangerously cold wind chills” between six and 10 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday around midday.
The last inauguration to be held indoors was in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second term in the Rotunda due to bitterly cold temperatures.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is in charge of the inaugural events at the Capitol complex, said later Friday that it will honor Trump’s request to move the ceremonies indoors.
Trump in the Truth Social post said that D.C.’s Capital One Arena will be opened for a live viewing of his inauguration, and that it will also host a scheduled presidential parade.
“I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In,” Trump wrote.
The president-elect added that the rest of his inauguration ceremonies, including a MAGA rally at the Capitol One Arena on Sunday afternoon, will “remain the same.”
“Everyone will be safe, everyone will be happy, and we will, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote.
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