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Fox News has learned that House and Senate offices are growing increasingly frustrated about who can attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration Monday in the Capitol rotunda.
Fox was told that members’ offices were asked to “return” paperwork on whether a lawmaker wants to attend and whether the lawmaker’s spouse wants to attend. However, there are no “plus-ones”. And Fox was told spousal assistance could be “duy.”
One lawmaker said members were trying to get governors or other state officials into the Capitol rotunda. But it was far from clear whether officials could accommodate those requests.
There is an effort to get a small group of people into the Capitol rotunda who were supposed to sit up front but who were not members of the House and Senate. An official declined to identify to Fox who those with “special status” might be.
This probably means that there are very few dignitaries or other people who can enter it the inauguration. A Trump-supporting lawmaker was “happy” to be moved inside so the lawmaker wouldn’t have to sit outside in the cold “for an hour and a half.” The lawmaker also noted that House members likely would have had a more awkward experience if the inauguration had been outside. This is because of the way the wind blows across the platform and where members of the House had to sit on the west front.
Workers build a stage in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Friday for the 60th presidential inauguration, which was moved indoors due to cold temperatures expected on Monday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A lawmaker told Fox that 700 people were traveling to Washington for the inauguration, and now none of them would be sitting anywhere. But the lawmaker “hadn’t heard a single complaint” from people who traveled to see the inauguration in person that now can’t.
President Reagan’s The 1985 inauguration, moved indoors due to extreme cold and a 7-degree temperature, drew a crowd of 1,000 in the Capitol rotunda. Fox’s colleague Aishah Hasnie reports that the total allowed inside the Capitol rotunda for this inauguration will likely be 600. Also, Fox is told that “600 is pushing it” because of issues of fire One source says the number may be closer to 500 before all is said and done.
TRUMP will be inaugurated indoors: The last ceremony held indoors was for Reagan in 1985
Fox is told there were concrete plans for inaugurations in 2017 and 2021 to move the ceremonies indoors. Officials even rehearsed these scenarios. Additionally, Fox was told there was serious discussion about moving the 2017 inauguration indoors due to rain and concerns about umbrellas.
While weather is the primary reason for moving the inauguration indoors, several sources close to the planning of the event have expressed security concerns.
“My Spidey senses are up,” said a lawmaker who asked not to be identified and is involved in planning the event. But when Fox pressed various lawmakers and other sources, no one could identify a specific threat.
The US Capitol building is surrounded by fencing in Washington, DC on Friday as preparations are made for President-elect Trump’s inauguration on Monday. (Fox News Digital)
That said, more than one lawmaker contacted by Fox noted that there were several outdoor events the elected president before the July assassination attempt, and all other subsequent events have been indoors.
Fox is told that security officials will erect what was described as a “geo-fence” around the Capitol to jam and block nefarious communications and/or drones. At one point, there was talk of shutting down all cellular communications during the time period President-elect Trump was on the platform.
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That said, a forecast of about four inches of snow in Washington Sunday night began to change the thinking about this year’s inauguration. There is real concern that thousands of people on the National Mall are standing in the cold, fresh snow for hours. There were concerns about emergency personnel being able to reach those who may have medical emergencies while on the National Mall due to the inclement weather. Another issue is how the snow that melted today could refreeze, creating significantly slick surfaces around the Capitol.
First Lady Nancy Reagan, center, looks on as President Reagan is sworn in during ceremonies in the rotunda under the Capitol dome in Washington, DC, January 21, 1985. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, file)
And then there’s another factor: snowball fights.
A senior source told Fox there was real discussion about snowball fights interfering with the event if Washington got a new layer of snow. A source said planners were concerned it could “disappear” and could contribute to injuries.
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Inside or out, this could be the snowiest inauguration since Inauguration Day was moved to January 20, 1937. The previous Inauguration Day snow record came in 1961, for the swearing in of President John F. Kennedy. Washington received seven-tenths of an inch of snow that day.
And given the timing, perhaps it was only fitting that poet Robert Frost spoke at JFK’s inauguration.
