Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, while Kamala Harris will take oath as the first woman Vice President on January 20, 2021. Though the event will be much different from that of past years due to coronavirus pandemic, but one thing will be the same - the date. January 20 has been the date of the swearing-in since 1937, when Franklin D Roosevelt took oath of office for his second term.
Before that, he swearing-in used to take place on March 4.
The Constitution originally set a president's term to start March 4 the year after the election was held. Back in the late 1700s when America gained its independence, the framers of the Constitution wanted to allow enough time after Election Day for officials to gather election returns and for newly-elected candidates to travel to the Capitol.
But then modern advances in communication and transportation happened. Lawmakers pushed for change and the 20th Amendment was ratified in 1933. Then on January 20, 1937, Franklin D Roosevelt became the first US president sworn into office in January.
The 20th Amendment shortened the time between the election and inauguration from four months to two. Nicknamed the Lame Duck Amendment, it moved the inauguration date from March 4 to January 20.
The Amendment, which took effect in October that year, also fixed January 3 as the date for the first meeting of the new Congress, thereby eliminating extended lame duck congressional sessions.
According to the 20th Amendment, "the terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January."
This means that the incumbent President and Vice President continue to hold office till 11:59:59 pm on January 20, after which power shifts to the incoming administration.
Are there any exceptions?
If January 20 falls on a Sunday, the president is still sworn in, but the festivities are held the following day. This last happened in 2013 for Barack Obama's second inauguration.
Inaugurations also will be held immediately in the case of an emergency, such as a vice president needing to be sworn in upon the death of a sitting president.
