On Wednesday, Joseph R. Biden Jr. becomes the 46th President of the United States. Here is a look at some facts about the inaugural event and the all-important oath of office.
The Constitution’s 20th Amendment says that “the terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January,” allowing the new president and vice president to take the oaths required by the Constitution to assume office.
Article II, Section 1 spells out the president’s oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The Chief Justice usually administers the presidential inaugural oath on the Capitol’s west front, with few exceptions. The exceptions have occurred after the death of a president when there was an urgent need for the new President to continue the office. The last person to administer the oath who wasn’t a Chief Justice was Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes in 1963, after President John F. Kennedy’s death.
The vice president’s oath has been administered by various officials in the past. On Wednesday, Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer the oath to Kamala Harris. Sotomayor also administered the oath to Biden in 2013 when he was re-elected vice president.
The vice president takes her oath before the president and it is a bit longer as specified in a federal statute: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
Biden will take the oath using a family bible from 1893, similar to a tradition followed by most presidents. Harris will take the oath on two bibles, one that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, and the other to a family friend, Regina Shelton. The president-elect and vice president-elect will place their left hand on a Bible and raise their right hand to recite their oaths.
George Washington started that tradition of using a Bible in 1789. Author Washington Irving claimed Washington also started the custom of adding “So help me God” at the oath’s end. There is no direct evidence of that. Others believe Chester Alan Arthur used the words when he took the oath after James Garfield died. In modern times, every President since Herbert Hoover has added “So help me God” at the oath’s end. Newsreel footage from 1929 shows Chief Justice William Howard Taft reading the oath to Hoover, who simply says, “I do” at the end.
This year’s inauguration will differ from most prior events, because of Covid-19 and security precautions. A small, socially distanced audience will be at the event, including three former presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Around the area will be a heavy military presence.
Once the oaths are administered, now-President Biden will give his inaugural address to the crowd in attendance and a global virtual audience. The inaugural address spells out the president’s vision for the next four years. After his speech, Biden will join the three former presidents on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery to put a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. President Biden, with a military escort, will then return to Washington and occupy the White House.
