Biden inaugural committee urges supporters to stay home

President-elect Joe Biden in 2013.
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

President-elect Joe Biden is preparing for an abnormal inauguration ceremony in a very abnormal year.

Some of the aspects of Biden's swearing in ceremony will be traditional: He'll be sworn in on the west side of the Capitol building and give a speech from there after his swearing in, his inaugural committee said Tuesday. But amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden's inaugural committee is urging the usually massive crowds who line the mall for an inauguration to stay home.

As usual, elected officials and other people from across the country will join Biden on the platform outside the Capitol. "But attendance will be limited," The Washington Post reports, and it's unclear if Biden will hold a traditional lunch with congressmembers following the swearing in or have tea with President Trump before it. Biden's inaugural committee did confirm it'll hold some kind of "reimagined" parade after the inaugural ceremony. It's expected to be "more virtual than physical," reminiscent of the roll call at the virtual Democratic National Convention, the Post writes.

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Meanwhile Trump will be able to leave the White House knowing his inauguration crowd was at least bigger than Biden's.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.