CNN
—
President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration will take place indoors, he announced Friday, due to dangerously cold temperatures screened in the nation’s capital.
“I ordered that the inaugural address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, be delivered in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, like the one used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of the very cold weather,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this historic event and hosting the presidential parade. I will join the crowd at Capital One after my swearing in,” Trump added.
CNN reported earlier Friday that plans were underway for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance to take the oath of office in the Rotunda and that Trump’s team was in talks to possibly hold some of the festivities in the arena, where Trump will hold a rally on Sunday. .
“The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will honor the request of the President-elect and his Presidential Inaugural Committee to move the 60th Inaugural Ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda,” the committee said in a statement.
The committee is still developing contingency plans to hold the inauguration in multiple locations in the event of weather or other obstacles, but the challenge now is where to place the thousands of people who would have been outside but cannot all enter the Rotunda.
“The vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person,” the committee said in a notice sent to ticket holders later Friday. He urged potential viewers to watch in “indoor locations of their choice,” adding that he “designates certain locations to watch and will provide additional information.” The committee said those with tickets to the presidential platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person.
The Secret Service and other agencies, including Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Capitol Police, are working to determine how moving the inauguration and parade indoors will change security plans for Monday, said to CNN two police sources close to the planning.
Agencies now have just three days to develop a new security plan that previously took months. Agencies have been working since early 2024 to plan for the inauguration — designated by the Department of Homeland Security as a special national security event, which triggers a multi-pronged federal approach.
Trump’s inauguration was expected to bring together hundreds of thousands of ticketed guests and involve about 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel.
As of Friday morning, more than 30 miles of fencing — more than ever erected for such an event — were still being installed and were intended to screen crowds through security checkpoints ahead of Trump’s outdoor inauguration , now abandoned, and the parade on Pennsylvania Avenue. from the Capitol to the White House.
Law enforcement officials are working to develop a new plan around Trump’s inauguration now that the ceremony and parade are being moved indoors, which could make security easier in some ways, they said. to CNN from sources close to the planning.
The rotunda of the US Capitol, where the inauguration will now take place, can accommodate about 700 people and will only be open to members of Congress, their spouses and VIPs, a congressional source told CNN, although a final plan is still in progress. flow.
Event security will reflect how the U.S. Capitol Police, in partnership with the Secret Service and others, secure the building and surrounding area for State of the Union addresses. It will be closed to the public, who were instead directed to Capitol One Arena.
The arena has a capacity of just over 20,000 people, while law enforcement said more than 200,000 people had tickets for the inauguration. The Capitol’s sergeant-at-arms told congressional offices that “the weather plan prevents the vast majority of ticketed guests from attending ceremonies in person.” They also said inaugural tickets could still be distributed as commemorative items to those who can no longer attend.
Security measures for the arena and surrounding areas are still being worked out between the Secret Service, Washington police and other agencies.
Officials fear the low temperatures could pose a health risk to attendees and guests — a concern Trump expressed Friday.
“I don’t want to see people hurt or hurt under any circumstances. These are dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of law enforcement, first responders, police K9s and even horses, as well as the hundreds of thousands of fans who will be out for many hours on the 20th (in In any case, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” Trump posted.
The last president to take the oath of office indoors was Reagan in 1985, when daytime temperatures dropped to 7 degrees with a wind chill of -25. Reagan took the oath of office in the Capitol rotunda. Its inaugural parade was canceled.
President William Henry Harrison is widely believed to have caught a cold during his inaugural ceremony in 1841, during which he gave a two-hour speech and wore neither coat nor hat. according to at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. He then contracted pneumonia and died a month after his inauguration.
This year, the temperature on Inauguration Day at noon — when the president-elect takes the oath of office — is expected to be in the high 20s, about 20 degrees below normal — likely the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration.
Winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph are likely Monday. These winds will make conditions icy. Wind chills are expected to hover around 10 degrees during the day and could drop to the single digits after sunset.
A mix of rain and snow is possible on Sunday before the main event, but Monday looks cold and windy, but dry, so far.
CNN’s Lauren Fox, Betsy Klein, Mary Gilbert and Taylor Ward contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional developments.