Biden's Inauguration Day, Trump's final hours, new senators: 5 things to know Wednesday

Editors, USA TODAY
·6 min read

An Inauguration Day like no other

As President-elect Joe Biden’s term begins at noon ET on Wednesday, it will be an Inauguration Day for the history books: Kamala Harris will officially be the first female vice president — and the first Black and South Asian woman to take the role. There's a pandemic raging across the country, and the outgoing commander-in-chief is being impeached because of a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. And the date is a palindrome that won’t happen for another thousand years. Not in modern times has an inauguration been staged amid such domestic turmoil. But while the 59th inaugural ceremonies will be much smaller because of security concerns and health risks, Biden and Harris will still take the oath of office on the Capitol's West Front. And the same day Biden is sworn in, he will introduce immigration legislation that will include an eight-year pathway to citizenship for nearly 11 million immigrants living in the United States without legal status, along with expanding refugee admissions and an enforcement plan that includes deploying technology to patrol the border.

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Trump plans to end his presidency at Mar-a-Lago as Biden takes oath

If he sticks to the schedule, President Donald Trump will spend his final minutes in office at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump is expected to be at the Palm Beach club, which he dubbed the "Winter White House," when the clock strikes noon on Wednesday, ending a contentious presidential term that closed with days of seclusion after a riot in the U.S. Capitol and will be capped with a final military send-off at Joint Base Andrews. Barring a schedule change, the White House has invited hundreds of supporters to a ceremony at the airbase, expected to feature a red carpet and military color guard – and perhaps a preview of another Trump presidential run in 2024. Trump will be the first president in more than 150 years to skip the inauguration of his successor.

One year ago: COVID-19 made its first appearance in the US

On Jan. 20, 2020, the United States' first known U.S. case of the novel coronavirus was reported in Snohomish County, Washington, north of Seattle. In the year since, COVID-19 has crept into every county in the nation, killing more than 400,000 people, and infecting 1 in every 14 Americans. To put it in perspective, that's almost as many Americans as the number who died during World War II. Vaccines offer an eventual end to the pandemic, but less than half of the 31 million doses distributed to states so far have been used because of bottlenecks and a decentralized rollout. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make COVID-19 his administration's top priority, proposing a $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief package that includes $70 billion for virus testing and a national vaccination program.

More high winds are expected throughout California

Howling winds roared across portions of California this week, sparking a string of new wildfires and leaving more than 240,000 customers without power. More high winds are expected into Wednesday, forecasters said. High wind warnings and advisories continue across much of the state, where wind gusts may reach 70 to 80 mph at higher elevations and 50 to 70 mph in valleys and along the coast, the National Weather Service said. To put the winds in perspective, a Category 1 hurricane has winds of 74 to 95 mph. The gusty winds kicked up fresh fires in Santa Cruz County, causing evacuations for 120 homes, and the state's firefighting agency said it had responded to at least a dozen vegetation fires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties in 12 hours. Yosemite National Park was forced to close "due to damage from high winds," according to the park's website, and two COVID-19 vaccination centers were also shut down due to threat of fires.

Warnock, Ossoff to be sworn in, giving Democrats majority in Senate

Democrats will take control of the Senate on Wednesday after their two newest members, Georgia's Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, are sworn in late Wednesday afternoon, according to a Senate source, causing a 50-50 split in the chamber. They’re set to be sworn in after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take their oaths of office as the new president and vice president, meaning Harris will officially be the president of the Senate and the tie-breaking vote allowing Democrats control of the chamber. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who is set to take control of the chamber, said he was meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Tuesday about a power-sharing agreement because the chamber will be split down the middle.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inauguration Day, Joe Biden, Donald Trump: 5 things to know Wednesday

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