WASHINGTON — When Donald Trump is sworn back into office on Monday, Jan. 20, it will be the 60th formal presidential inauguration in the nation’s history.
You may be asking yourself why is it the 60th U.S. presidential inauguration despite Trump being the 47th President of the United States? There are a couple reasons to explain that.
When a president is re-elected, they must take the oath of office again, meaning there is another inauguration every four years on Jan. 20, the year after an election.
Trump will be the 22nd president to have served more than one term in office, including vice presidents who won re-election after taking over when a president has died. He’s just the second president to serve non-consecutive terms.
The only person who served more than two terms in office is Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served four consecutive terms during the Great Depression and WWII – after which Congress passed a law limiting presidents to two terms.
The inauguration number also doesn’t include the times a vice president has abruptly been elevated to the presidency. Eight vice presidents have taken the oath of office after the death of a president, while another was sworn in after a presidential resignation. In those nine occasions, there weren’t inaugural ceremonies.
What other president was reelected after losing?
Because both Trump and Grover Cleveland are the only two presidents to serve non-consecutive terms, Trump is the 44th person to serve as U.S. president. He will be listed as the 45th president and the 47th because of outgoing President Joe Biden’s term as the 46th president between Trump’s time in the White House.
Who organizes the inauguration?
Since 1901, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has been in charge of organizing the event. That committee allows Congress to work with the Presidential Inaugural Committee, a non-profit organization that is jump-started following the November election to represent the President-elect and organize inauguration activities outside of the U.S. Capitol.
For the 2025 inauguration, the PIC is organizing the inauguration parade and several formal balls celebrating Trump’s win.
Where will the 2025 inauguration take place?
For the first time since Ronald Reagan’s second swearing-in ceremony in 1885, the inauguration is being moved indoors in 2025.
It’s expected in D.C. to be one of the coldest Inauguration Days in history, with temperatures hovering in the low 20s, which led to a last-minute change from the ceremony in front of the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda inside the building.
Trump has announced a viewing and celebration will be held at Capital One Arena for those who planned to attend outside. The arena will also host a modified presidential parade, after Trump is sworn in.