Biden to be sworn in President today
More than 25,000 National Guard troops being deployed to assist swearing-in
Washington, Jan. 19: Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, while Kamala Harris will take oath as the first woman Vice President on Wednesday, in the midst of growing concerns over the safety of the historic inauguration following the recent violent attack on the Capitol Hill by proTrump supporters.
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Biden just after the clock strikes 12 (local time) at the West Front of the Capitol - the traditional location - under the unprecedented security umbrella of more than 25,000 National Guards, who have transformed the capital into a garrison city, mainly because of the threat of violent protest by Trump’s supporters.
Biden, 78, will take the oath on his 127-year-old family Bible, which will be held by his wife, Jill Biden. Biden, who will be the oldest president in American history, will deliver his first presidential address to the country after taking oath shortly after noon.
Harris, 56, will make history as the first female, first person of colour and first South Asian American vice president when she will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court. Sotomayor administered the oath to Biden as vice president in 2013.
She will be sworn in on two Bibles — one that belonged to a close family friend named Regina Shelton and another that belonged to Thurgood Marshall — the country’s first African American Supreme Court justice.
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