Washington — Monday’s inauguration ceremony for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be moved indoors due to dangerously freezing temperatures, Trump announced on social media on Friday.
“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. … Therefore, 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.”
Temperatures are expected to be in the teens and low 20s on Monday, with wind chills making it feel even lower. Weather forecasters are also predicting snow the day before.
The Rotunda is under the Capitol dome and is typically used for congressional ceremonies and celebrations.
Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Trump said Capital One arena in downtown D.C. would be open for supporters to watch the ceremony live, and he will join the crowd after he is sworn in. The arena will also host the presidential parade. The arena can fit about 20,000 people, a fraction of those who are expected to visit Washington for the inauguration.
Dignitaries and other VIP guests will be brought into the Rotunda, Trump said, but space will be extremely limited.
“This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!” Trump wrote in his post.
A senior inaugural official in Washington previously told CBS News that moving the ceremony indoors was “the president-elect’s call and we will honor that.” CNN first reported that the inauguration would be moved indoors.
Two law enforcement sources told CBS News earlier that a “Rotunda plan” for the swearing-in was “under consideration” and had been a contingency for months.
Ed O’Keefe and
Nicole Sganga
contributed to this report.
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