WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2021) Joe Biden will be sworn into office on Wednesday as the 46th US President in the most guarded and one of the least attended inauguration ceremonies in the country's history, as a result of ongoing healthcare and political emergencies that are poised to top the new administration's agenda from day one.
The festivities at the west front of the Capitol building will be kept secure by some 25,000 National Guard soldiers, five times the combined number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with multilayered fences, closures of metro stations, roads and bridges that put Washington, DC on a virtual lockdown.
The largest peace-time military deployment in the capital followed an attack on the domed residence of US Congress by incumbent Donald Trump's loyalists on January 6, who sought to prevent the certification of Biden's electoral win.
Biden is to take the oath of office at around noon local time (17:00 GMT) with his hand on top of a 127-year-old family Bible, which will be held by his wife Jill, media reported. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the presidential part of the ceremony, while Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is expected to be sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court.
Biden is then expected to appeal for unity during his first presidential address to the nation.
"A message of unity [and] getting things done. That's what he will be talking about January 20," incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain told CNN on Sunday.
Together with Harris, he will take part in a Pass in Review, wherein representatives of every branch of the military greet their new Commander-in-Chief.
The president and vice president are then scheduled to pay a visit to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. From there they will head to the White House, accompanied by the First Lady and Second Gentleman, an official title chosen by Harris's husband Doug Emhoff.
A virtual "Parade Across America" with performances from all 50 US states and five inhabited territories is expected to wrap up inauguration events.
Festivities will be attended by most of members of Congress, the Supreme Court and former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. According to NBC, 96-year-old Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter will not come, but "they sent their best wishes."
Foreign diplomats were also invited, including Russia's ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who told Sputnik that he plans to attend.
Vice President Mike Pence will be the most senior official to represent the outgoing administration at Biden's inauguration. President Donald Trump, who never retracted allegations of fraudulently stolen elections, announced that he would skip the event.
The incumbent is expected to leave the White House early on Wednesday morning and head for his Florida estate after a farewell ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base. Trump still faces a trial at the Senate after the House of Representatives voted for his impeachment over "an incitement of violence against the US government" in January 6 events.
On his first day in office, Biden will sign executive orders that overturn some of Trump's most controversial policies and reinforce pandemic mitigation and relief measures. He is expected to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, end restrictions on travel and immigration from a dozen Muslim countries, and issue a mask mandate on federal property.
The authorities permitted two small "First Amendment" events during the inauguration with activists to be searched and escorted to designated spots on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Due to fears of "a coordinated insider attack" all National Guard servicemen deployed in the city are being vetted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, media reported. US law enforcement agencies warned of new flare-ups of violence across the country, but these fears have not been borne out yet.
