Parade viewing stands near White House dismantled
Workers on Tuesday broke down the inaugural parade reviewing stand in entrance of the White House forward of what President-elect Joe Biden’s transition staff plans for a largely digital inauguration.
Aides to the president-elect say that such infrastructure is not going to be vital for the “reimagined” occasion.
“When the JCCIC first organized in June of 2020, its membership committed to planning ceremonies that were as safe and traditional as possible,” the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Committees said in a statement.
“In light of the ongoing pandemic and in order to keep everyone safe, we strongly encourage people to stay home and view the virtual program in addition to the traditional broadcast,” it continues.
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“The ceremony’s footprint will be extremely limited” the committee, which will oversee the events taking place on Capitol grounds, said on Dec. 15.
Off Capitol grounds, the National Park Service and Secret Service will be coordinating to reduce crowd size on federal lands and around the White House.
The various committees are coordinating on virtual programming to make the event feel more inclusive in lieu of the fan fair and large crowds that normally accompany presidential inaugurations.
The White House referred questions about the inauguration ceremony to the inaugural team.
The dressed-down event is reflective of the tumult the incoming administration will inherit after Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn on Jan. 20.
On Tuesday Biden said the next few months would be “a very tough period for our nation” and criticized the Trump administration for its rollout of coronavirus vaccines. The president-elect lamented that “it’s going to take years, not months” to vaccinate the country at the administration’s current rate.
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“This is going to be the greatest operational challenge we’ve ever faced as a nation,” Biden stated at a press convention in Wilmington, Del. “But we’re going to get it done.”
To prepare for the event, the committee has begun drafting plans compliant with public health guidelines and brought in Dr. David Kessler, former commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration and a co-chair to Biden’s COVID-19 Task Force, to serve as chief medical advisor to the committee.
Other details for the Biden inauguration ceremonies, including whether a parade will take place at all, the potential lineup of performing artists and whether Republican members of Congress and President Donald Trump will attend the event are still unknown.
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