BIDEN, HARRIS TO TAKE OATHS OUTSIDE CAPITOL

Inauguration events to be scaled down amid pandemic

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in to office on the steps of the Capitol next month, but those who are planning his inauguration are urging Americans to stay at home and limit gatherings during the event.

Biden’s planning committee for the first time stated definitively Tuesday that he will be sworn in to office on the west side of the Capitol, the location that has been used in recent years, and he will give an inauguration address from the platform.

But just about everything else is being reimagined.

Other elected officials will be on the platform, but attendance will be limited. A parade of some sort will be staged, but it is likely to be more virtual than physical, featuring people from across the country, much like the virtual roll call at the Democratic National Convention in August. It is unclear whether the traditional luncheon with members of Congress will be held after the swearing in, or whether President Donald Trump will host Biden at the usual tea at the White House before the swearing in.

Biden’s transition team is urging all Americans to stay at home, refrain from travel and to limit gatherings during the inauguration. His aides are conscious that the virus is probably going to be on the rise and are discouraging people from traveling from anywhere in the country to Washington, as a way to limit the potential spread and prevent a gathering on the Mall from turning into a superspreader event.

“This is a once-in-a-generation moment that we’re in,” Maju Varghese, the executive director of the inauguration, said in an interview. “What we’re trying to do here is be honest and transparent. We realize the moment that we’re in as it relates to the pandemic, so we’re leaning into doing things very different this time.”

“The idea of some of the models you’ve seen through the pandemic — from screens at NBA games or different camera angles to watch events at home — are things our creative team and digital team is thinking about,” he added. “We’re asking them to do something different this year, and we’re trying to give them something different as well.”

Biden’s inauguration committee on Tuesday provided The Washington Post with a look at some of the initial plans and the new health protocols it is starting to put into place. For weeks, the committee has been grappling with how to give the event the magisterial feel of past inaugurations — a mandate that has grown more important as Trump continues to falsely claim he won the election — while at the same time adhering to the health protocols Biden followed during his presidential campaign.

The committee tapped David Kessler, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner who has been advising Biden on the coronavirus, to be the inauguration’s chief medical adviser.

“Americans everywhere must do their part to slow the spread of the virus: wear masks, stay home, and limit gatherings,” Kessler said in a statement. “We are asking Americans to participate in inaugural events from home to protect themselves, their families, friends, and communities.”

The group producing the events also helped put together the Democratic convention, which was widely praised for reimagining an event typically conducted in person into one done virtually. That team, which has also helped produce Super Bowl halftime shows and Tony Awards ceremonies, includes Stephanie Cutter and Ricky Kirshner as executive producers and Rod O’Connor as senior adviser.

“As a result of being honest (about the pandemic) it freed us to be creative and think outside the box,” Varghese said. “... Rather than thinking about all the things we can’t do, we’re thinking about all the things we can do.”