Source: CNN
President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration will be moved indoors, he announced Friday, due to dangerously cold temperatures projected in the nation’s capital.
“I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade. I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In,” Trump added.
CNN reported earlier Friday that plans were underway for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance to be sworn in in the Rotunda and that Trump’s team was in talks to potentially hold some of the festivities at the arena, where Trump will host a rally on Sunday.
“The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will honor the request of the President-elect and his Presidential Inaugural Committee to move the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies inside the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda,” the committee said in a statement.
The committee always makes contingency plans to host the inauguration in multiple locations in case of weather or other obstacles, but the challenge now is where to put the thousands of people who would have been outside but cannot all fit in the Rotunda.
“The vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person,” the committee said in a notice sent to ticket holders later Friday. It urged would-be spectators to watch at “indoor venues of their choice,” adding that it’s “designating certain places to watch and will provide additional information.” The committee said that those with tickets for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person.
Law enforcement agencies work to craft new plans
The Secret Service and other agencies, including DC and US Capitol Police, are working to determine how moving the inauguration and parade indoors will change security plans for Monday, two law enforcement sources familiar with the planning told CNN.
Agencies now have just three days to put together a new security plan that previously took months to plan. The agencies have worked since early 2024 planning for the inauguration — designated by the Department of Homeland Security as a National Special Security Event, which triggers a multi-pronged federal approach.
Trump’s inauguration was expected to be attended by hundreds of thousands of ticketed guests and involve roughly 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel.
As of Friday morning, more than 30 miles of fencing — more than has ever erected for such an event — was still being set up and was meant to filter crowds through security checkpoints in anticipation for Trump’s now-scrapped outdoor inauguration and parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.
Law enforcement agencies are working to craft a new plan around Trump’s inauguration now that the ceremony and parade are being moved indoors, which could make security easier in some respects, sources familiar with the planning tell CNN.
The Rotunda in the US Capitol, where the inauguration will now be held, can hold approximately 700 people and is only set to be open to members of Congress, their spouses and VIPs, one congressional source tells CNN, though a final plan is still in flux.
Security for the event will reflect how the US Capitol Police, in partnership with the Secret Service and others, secures the building and surrounding area for State of the Union addresses. It will be closed off to the public, who have instead been directed to the Capitol One Arena.
The arena has a capacity of just over 20,000 whereas law enforcement officials have said that over 200,000 individuals had tickets to the inauguration. The Sergeant at Arms for the Capitol told congressional offices that the “weather plan precludes the vast majority of ticketed guests from attending the ceremonies in person.” They also said that inaugural tickets could still be handed out as commemorative items for those who can no longer attend.
Security measures for the arena and the surrounding area are still being worked out between the Secret Service, DC police and other agencies.
Officials worried about low temperatures
Officials are worried about the low temperatures being a health risk to attendees and guests — a concern Trump voiced on Friday.
“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” Trump posted.
The last president to be sworn in indoors was Reagan in 1985, when daytime temperatures dipped to 7 degrees with a windchill of -25. Reagan took the oath of office inside the Capitol rotunda. His inaugural parade was canceled.
President William Henry Harrison is widely believed to have caught a cold during his 1841 inaugural ceremony, during which he gave a two-hour speech and wore no coat or hat, according to the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. He later contracted pneumonia and died one month after his inauguration.
This year, the temperature on Inauguration Day at noon — when the president-elect swears in — is expected to be in the low 20s, which is around 20 degrees below normal — likely the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration.
Winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph are likely Monday. These winds will make conditions feel frigid. Wind chills are likely to hover around 10 degrees during the daylight hours and could drop into the single digits after sundown.
A mix of rain and snow is possible Sunday ahead of the main event, but Monday so far looks to be cold and windy, but dry.
This is story has been updated with additional developments.