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WASHINGTON — Monday’s 60th inauguration of a U.S. president, which will again be Donald Trump, will be a day of pomp and circumstance with plenty of tradition — but also some new twists.
And although there will be Minnesotans in the crowd that Park Police estimate will be about 250,000, as well as on the platform that has been built on the west front of the U.S. Capitol to host the swearing-in, some notable people from the state will not be attending.
They include Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, who plans to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which also falls on Monday, by instead attending activities to honor the civil rights leader in the Twin Cities.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5th District, will also honor MLK in her district instead of attending the inauguration in Washington.
Other Minnesota lawmakers plan to attend, however, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar will play a role in Trump’s swearing in. As chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Activities, the Democrat will make brief remarks before Trump places his hand on a Bible and takes his oath to serve the United States.
Like McCollum and Omar, former First Lady Michelle Obama has said she’s going to skip Trump’s inauguration. But former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are expected to attend.
The swearing in and other inaugural activities will occur outside on what is expected to be one of the coldest days this year in Washington — a chill that will test the fortitude of those who undergo unprecedented security measures and wait for hours for the ceremony to commence.
A cold inauguration day — and it was held in March, not January — was said to have claimed the life of the ninth U.S. president, William Henry Harrison, who died of pneumonia about three weeks after he gave his inaugural address in frigid weather without the protection of a hat or coat.
Despite Harrison’s death, inauguration day was moved to an even colder month, January, in 1933 to shorten the period a “lame duck” president served if he did not win re-election the previous November.
Rep. Pete Stauber, R-8th District, who has invited a group of family and friends to attend the inaugural, shrugged off reports of frigid weather, saying it would have little effect on his guests from Minnesota.
“It will be just another Monday,” Stauber said as far as the expected deep freeze.
Over the years, a basic pattern of activities has been established. Around noon, the president is sworn in on a platform at the U.S. Capitol by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court — in this case, Justice John Roberts. After taking the brief, 35-word oath of office, the new president gives an inaugural address, then hosts a lunch for congressional leaders in the U.S. Capitol.
Trump has also said he’s going to buckle down to work after that lunch, pledging to sign a flurry of executive orders on issues ranging from border security to gas and oil production on his first day as president.
These executive orders, many of which are expected to be challenged in federal courts, will overshadow the festivities, which will feature a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House and an evening of gala festivities.
Yet the inaugural activities begin several days before Trump is sworn in, and he has put his imprimatur on them.
Inaugural events will kick off Saturday with a celebration that includes fireworks and a reception at Trump National Golf Club, the president-elect’s golf club in northern Virginia.
On Sunday, Trump plans to visit the Arlington National Cemetery, where he generated flak this summer by filming a campaign commercial among the graves. This time, Trump plans to place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
He also plans a rally in the downtown arena that is best known for hosting the Washington Capitals hockey games, which Trump has dubbed the “Make America Great Again Victory Rally.”
And in the evening, Trump plans to make a speech at a “candlelight dinner,” a black tie affair at the National Building Museum where donors and lobbyists will be able to have access to the president-elect if they pay at least $250,000 to the inaugural committee or a Trump-aligned political action committee.
There will be at least 15 unofficial balls over the weekend and Monday evening. They range from the long-running Texas State Society’s Black Tie & Boots ball to a new one called the Crypto Ball. Minnesotans usually celebrate at a ball sponsored by several Midwestern states, but Stauber said that could not be arranged this year.
Trump has committed to attending only three official balls: the Commander in Chief Ball, the Liberty Inaugural Ball — which Stauber and other lawmakers plan to attend — and the Starlight Ball. All of the official balls will be held Monday evening and Trump is expected to make remarks at each.
New jobs, and reappointments to old ones
This week several Minnesota lawmakers received new jobs in Congress.
Freshman Rep. Kelly Morrison, D-3rd District, was assigned to seats on the House Small Business Committee and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Morrison’s husband John is a veteran.
Also this week, Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, was appointed vice chair of the House Financial Services’ Digital Assets Subcommittee. Emmer has frequently criticized federal agencies for their perceived hostility toward crypto and has been a constant critic of Securities and Exchange Commissioner Gary Gensler, whom the lawmaker has accused of regulatory overreach.
Meanwhile, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, continues as the top Democrat on the House Appropriations panel that determines the Pentagon’s budget.
And Rep. Pete Stauber, R-8th District, has been reappointed head of the House Natural Resources Committee with jurisdiction over energy and mineral resources.
Pete Hegseth was in the hot seat for more than four hours this week as the Senate Armed Services Committee considered his nomination for secretary of defense and emerged largely unscathed. Few policy questions were asked of the nominee, who drew fire from Democrats for his inexperience, an allegation of sexual assault and reports he mismanaged funds at two veterans groups he once headed. But Republicans on the panel lauded the nominee, who grew up in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and defended him against the reports of misconduct — and Hegseth’s own controversial writings.
Minnesota’s state House was in turmoil this week, and Peter Callaghan explained why there’s an unprecedented battle over control of the chamber.
Winter Keefer wrote about the efforts to turn empty commercial buildings into residential units, focusing on the New Groove Lofts at Northstar Center in downtown Minneapolis, a project that has set aside 44 apartments for tenants earning less than half of the median wage.
Your questions and comments
A reader weighed in on the nomination of Minnesotan Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. He had some concerns.
“Hegseth denied heavy drinking, but claimed he will stop if confirmed. It is almost never that easy for problem drinkers,” the reader said. “It seems like among his red flags that are left out of most reports are his attempts to clear or pardon those found to have committed war crimes … In his first term, heavyweights talked Trump out of rash and illegal military actions, something Hegseth will never do.”
Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming. I’ll try my best to respond. Please contact me at aradelat@.
