Trump’s swearing-in will move into the Capitol Rotunda due to intensely cold weather

WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday amid forecasts of intense cold weather.

“The weather forecast for Washington, DC, with the wind chill factor, could bring temperatures down to severe record lows,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “There’s an Arctic blast sweeping across the country. I don’t want to see people hurt or hurt in any way.”

The rotunda is prepared as an alternative for each inauguration in case of bad weather. The oath was last moved indoors in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan began his second term. Monday’s forecast calls for the lowest Inauguration Day temperatures since that day.

Alternate plans are required for the more than 250,000 ticketed guests to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds and the tens of thousands more expected to be in general admission areas or to line the inauguration parade route from the Capitol to The White House.

Trump said some supporters would be able to watch the ceremony from Washington’s Capital One Arena on Monday, a day after he plans to hold a rally there. He said he would visit the arena after his oath.

The National Weather Service predicts the temperature will be around 22 degrees (minus-6 celsius) at noon during the swearing-in, the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration saw temperatures dip to 7 degrees (minus-14 celsius). Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 was 28 degrees (minus-2 Celsius). Adding to the bite: Winds are expected to be 30 to 35 mph (48 to 56 km/h), sending chills into the single digits.

Trump’s inaugural committee and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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AP writers Seth Borenstein, Michelle Price and Farnoush Amiri contributed from Washington.