President-elect Joe Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, and their inauguration will look much different than years past, both because of the coronavirus pandemic and national security concerns.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said last week that there won’t be any public access to Capitol grounds during the inauguration, unlike past years — so neither Biden’s fans or opponents will be able to see him and Harris take the oath in person on the Capitol’s West Front.
The inauguration is expected to kick off at 11 a.m. ET, and Fox News’s special coverage of the inauguration proceedings will begin a couple hours before that at 9 a.m. ET Wednesday. “America’s Newsroom” co-anchors Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer will lead the coverage of the inauguration, with appearances from other Fox News contributors.
Throughout the inauguration ceremony, Fox’s “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” anchor and executive editor Martha MacCallum will lead coverage of the inauguration proceedings starting at 11 a.m. ET, which is when the ceremony itself is expected to begin. Baier and MacCullum will also anchor special extended coverage of the event from 3 to 5 p.m. ET.
Fox News White House correspondents Kristin Fisher and Peter Doocy will cover the day’s events from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Throughout the day, congressional correspondents Mike Emanuel, Chad Pergram and Jacqui Heinrich will report from the Capitol building.
There will be a limited parade this year following Biden and Harris’ swearing-in. Fox News will cover the parade route with several reporters — national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin will lead parade coverage alongside correspondents Griff Jenkins, Mark Meredith and Lucas Tomlinson. Correspondent David Spunt will be stationed at Joint Base Andrews.
Fox News fans can tune into the network’s special inauguration coverage either on the Fox News channel or the the Fox News Go app and website, which requires an active TV provider login. Fox News will broadcast live inauguration coverage free on its website.
Conservative opposition to the Biden administration continues to mount and Fox expects protests — the network said it will cover protests in “locations throughout the district” in tandem with its regular inauguration coverage.
After a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol to interrupt Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral college votes, Capitol Hill is still on lockdown. Public access to the inauguration will be extremely limited — though it was already sparse because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which is currently at its peak.
City officials will not allow people to pass through a perimeter set up around the White House, National Mall and Capitol, and will need to provide “proof of essential purpose” to get past the barriers.
National Guard troops were deployed to Washington, D.C. shortly after the insurrection attempt two weeks ago, and will remain there until the inauguration proceedings are finished. The troops were using the Capitol visitor’s center as a barracks; the last time the Capitol has hosted National Guardsmen was during the Civil War.
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