Washington — President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated Monday, taking the oath of office to formally kick off his second term in the White House.
The inauguration marks the official transfer of presidential power, with the executive branch changing hands from the Biden administration to the Trump administration. The 20th Amendment states that a president’s four-year term ends at noon on Jan. 20, and the president-elect is sworn in shortly after.
The inaugural ceremonies of the president-elect and vice president-elect are planned by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Led this year by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, the committee oversees eight events on Inauguration Day:
- the procession to the Capitol;
- the vice president’s swearing-in ceremony;
- the president’s swearing-in ceremony;
- the inaugural address;
- the honorary departure of the outgoing president and vice president;
- the signing ceremony, during which the new president signs nominations, memorandums, proclamations or executive orders;
- the inaugural luncheon;
- and the pass in review, during which the president and vice president review military troops before leading the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
The theme of this year’s ceremonies is “Our Enduring Democracy: A Constitutional Promise.”
What time does Trump’s inauguration start?
The inauguration ceremony should begin around 11:30 a.m. ET, teeing up Trump’s swearing-in at roughly noon, when he becomes president. The proceedings were initially going to take place the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, but the president-elect decided to move the ceremony indoors to the Capitol Rotunda because of cold temperatures expected in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
How long will the inauguration ceremony last?
While there is no set time for how long the inauguration ceremony will run, the proceedings lasted roughly an hour when Trump took the oath of office in 2017 and Mr. Biden was inaugurated in 2021.
What’s the schedule for the inauguration ceremony?
According to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, the inaugural ceremonies will begin with a musical prelude performed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Combined Choirs and “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band.
Klobuchar will issue a call to order, and Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, and the Rev. Franklin Graham will deliver an invocation. Christopher Macchio, an opera singer dubbed America’s Tenor, will sing “Oh, America!”
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will then administer the vice presidential oath of office to JD Vance. Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the high court in 2018 following the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Country singer Carrie Underwood, joined by the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club, will perform “America the Beautiful.”
Following their performance, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the presidential oath to Trump.
The Naval Academy Glee Club will return to sing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and then Trump will deliver his inaugural address.
The ceremony will conclude with a benediction from Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University; Imam Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center; Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church Detroit; and the Rev. Father Frank Mann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, and the National Anthem, performed by Macchio.
