US in readiness for Trump’s  second inauguration Monday 

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States (US) will take place on Monday, January 20, 2025, on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. 

The ceremony will be the 60th US Presidential inauguration and the second inauguration of Trump as US President, marking the commencement of his second and final non-consecutive term as US President.

It is also the term of JD Vance as the 50th US Vice-President, and the only non-consecutive re-inauguration for a US President after the second inauguration of Grover Cleveland in 1893. Trump's first inauguration was eight years earlier, in January 2017.

The event will include a swearing-in ceremony, a signing ceremony, an inaugural luncheon, a pass-in-review, a procession and a parade. Inaugural balls are held at various venues before and after the inaugural ceremonies. 

The US elections were held on November 5, 2024, and between 73 and 79 days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States will be inaugurated as President by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new presidential term, even if the President is continuing in office for another term.

First US inauguration

The first inauguration of the first US President, George Washington, took place on April 30, 1789. All subsequent public inaugurations from 1793 until 1933 were held on March 4, the day of the year on which the federal government began operations under the US Constitution in 1789. 

The exception to this pattern was those years in which March 4 fell on a Sunday. When it did, the public inauguration ceremony would take place on Monday, March 5. This happened on four occasions, in 1821, 1849, 1877 and 1917. 

Inauguration Day moved to January 20, beginning in 1937, following the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, where it has remained since. A similar Sunday exception and move to Monday is made around this date as well (which happened in 1957, 1985 and 2013) when January 20 fell on a Sunday. 

In those years, the presidential oath of office was administered on that day privately and then again in a public ceremony the next day, on Monday, January 21. 

Those inaugurations, each 28 years apart, were all coincidentally the re-inauguration of the incumbent president to a second and final term. The next presidential inauguration will be held on January 20, 2025, when Donald Trump will assume office.

Presidential Oath

Recitation of the presidential oath of office is the only component in this ceremony mandated by the United States Constitution (in Article II, Section One, Clause 8). Though it is not a constitutional requirement, the Chief Justice of the United States typically administers the presidential oath of office. Since 1789, the oath has been administered at 59 scheduled public inaugurations, by 15 chief justices, one associate justice, and one New York state judge.

 Others, in addition to the chief justice, have administered the oath of office to several of the nine vice-presidents who have succeeded to the presidency upon their predecessor's death or resignation intra-term.

Since the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the ceremony has been held at the West Front of the United States Capitol facing the National Mall with its iconic Washington Monument and distant Lincoln Memorial. From 1829 through 1977, most swearing-in ceremonies had taken place on a platform over the steps at the Capitol's east portico. 

Old Senate Chamber

They have also been held inside the Old Senate Chamber, the chamber of the House of Representatives, and the Capitol Rotunda. The most recent regularly scheduled inauguration not to take place at the Capitol was the fourth inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, which was held at the White House.

Over the years, various traditions have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to a day-long event, including parades and multiple social gatherings. The ceremony itself is carried live via the major US commercial television and cable news networks; various others also stream it live on their websites.

When a President has assumed office intra-term, the inauguration ceremony has been conducted without pomp or fanfare. To facilitate a quick presidential transition under extraordinary circumstances, the new President takes the oath of office in a simple ceremony and usually addresses the nation afterwards.

 This has happened nine times in United States history: eight times after the previous president had died while in office, and once after the previous president had resigned.

Planning

The event is scheduled to take place on Monday, January 20, 2025, on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Held on the third Monday of January, the inauguration will occur on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which marks the second time an inauguration has occurred on the same date as the holiday following the Second inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1997.

Agencies expected to be involved with the planning of the ceremony include the US Capitol Police, the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police, and the US Park Police. Twenty-four states offered National Guard support for the electoral vote certification and inaugural ceremonies.

In May 2024, both houses of Congress appointed a Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies to oversee the construction of the platform and other temporary structures that will be necessary for the ceremonies and celebrations.

Construction of the inaugural platform ceremonially began on September 18, 2024, with the driving of the first nail by United States Senator Amy Klobuchar using a nail made from iron ore mined and processed from the Iron Range.

Security and operations

In October 2024, the United States Capitol Police conducted an intelligence assessment that concluded an activist group "with a history of large-scale demonstrations involving illegal activity plans to protest the inauguration regardless of the outcome" and that other groups protesting the Israel-Hamas war were "nearly certain to target the Inauguration" regardless of the winner in the US presidential election.

Attendance 

Local and federal officials are expecting about 200,000 people to show up in Washington DC, which could include Trump supporters and protesters. Many US senators and House members also will attend, as well as guests of the incoming administration.

After Trump, Vance and their families, the next most important attendees are the outgoing President and Vice-President. This means we will see President Joe Biden, and Vice-President Kamala Harris - who lost the November election to Trump - with their respective spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff. Former presidents and first ladies are often on the guest list, but former first lady, Michelle Obama, will skip this year's inauguration, according to her office.