Trump inauguration moved inside the Capitol due to freezing temperatures

Washington — Monday’s inauguration ceremony for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will take place inside the Capitol due to dangerously low temperatures, Trump announced on social media on Friday. 

“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. … Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather.”

Temperatures are expected to be in the teens and low 20s on Monday with heavy winds. Weather forecasters are also predicting snow the day before. 

The Rotunda is under the Capitol dome and is typically used for congressional ceremonies and celebrations.

Trump said Capital One arena in downtown D.C. would be open for supporters to watch the ceremony live, and he will join the crowd after he is sworn in. The arena will also host the presidential parade. The space can fit about 20,000 people, a fraction of those who are expected to visit Washington for the inauguration. 

Dignitaries and other VIP guests will be brought into the Rotunda, Trump said, but space will be extremely limited. 

“This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!” Trump wrote in his post. 

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is responsible for planning the event, said in a statement that “the vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person.”

“At this time we know that those with tickets for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person,” the statement said. “While we know this is difficult for many attendees, we strongly suggest people who are in Washington for the event attend other indoor events at indoor venues of their choice to watch the inauguration.”

A senior inaugural official in Washington previously told CBS News that moving the ceremony indoors was “the president-elect’s call.” Two law enforcement sources told CBS News earlier that a “Rotunda plan” for the swearing-in was “under consideration” and had been a contingency for months. CNN first reported that the inauguration would be moved indoors.

When Reagan took the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda in 1985, it was 7 degrees outside, according to the National Weather Service, with wind chills making it feel far colder than 0 degrees.

Those conditions forced organizers to move the ceremony indoors. The Capitol Rotunda was packed, according to images from that day, with standing-room-only available for VIPs. 

Reagan was actually sworn in one day before the Jan. 21 inaugural festivities, on Jan. 20, since Jan. 20 fell on a Sunday. Chief Justice Warren Burger administered the oath of office to Reagan on both days. 

“There are no words adequate to express my thanks for the great honor that you have bestowed on me,” Reagan said in his second inaugural address. “I will do my utmost to be deserving of your trust.”

In May of that year, many of the high school marching bands that had been scheduled to perform in the inaugural parade played at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT, and Reagan spoke. 

Ed O’Keefe, Nicole Sganga and Scott MacFarlane contributed to this report.