President-elect Donald Trump, known for his preference for grandiosity (and aesthetics), will be afforded a larger platform for his inaugural swearing-in ceremony set for Monday.
Nonetheless, the stipulations from his team will displace legislators and other important figures from the intimate, face-to-face proceedings at the Capitol, as two sources informed the Daily Beast on Sunday.
Officials from Trump’s transition team turned down a stage that had been quickly assembled in the Capitol’s Rotunda, where Trump requested the official event be relocated due to a looming polar vortex. They instead insisted on a more expansive and visually appealing configuration, according to sources who preferred to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive ongoing security details.
While the updated stage may offer a more attractive view, it necessitated sacrifices in seating capacity.
With about 72 hours to adjust plans that had been in development for months after Trump’s announcement on Friday regarding the indoor shift, organizers were already in a rush. Then came the additional request for a new stage.
According to the Daily Beast, the discussions over the weekend escalated in intensity. At one point, Republicans hinted at relocating several inaugural activities to the White House, a strategy apparently employed to extract their desired outcome: grander and better.
The Trump team clashed with Democrats on the bipartisan Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
Neither Trump’s office nor Klobuchar’s aides responded promptly to requests for comments.
The redesign of Trump’s stage has diminished the already limited space within the historic Rotunda. The original arrangement was set to accommodate family members of Trump, lawmakers, Cabinet officials, and a select few of his close allies—including his preferred billionaires—albeit in tight quarters.
Now, a number of lawmakers and their families are anticipated to observe Trump taking the oath of office from an overflow area situated in Emancipation Hall—a spacious chamber within the Capitol Visitor Center where regular citizens enter for tours.
Nevertheless, sources have indicated that the 47th president of the United States is expected to come down to address attendees briefly following the events in the Rotunda.
The last time that frigid conditions necessitated a presidential inauguration to be held indoors at the Capitol Rotunda was in 1985, coinciding with President Ronald Reagan’s swearing-in for his second term.
