Who Is Attending Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' Inauguration: Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, More Arrive

As incoming President Joe Biden and incoming Vice President Kamala Harris were set to be sworn into office around noon on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, they were joined by former presidents, first ladies and some of the government's most powerful leaders — and not just a few celebrities.

The Obamas, the Bushes and the Clintons headlined the slimmed-down guest list for Wednesday's Inauguration Day events, which took place under the unprecedented twin circumstances of a global pandemic and a turbulent transfer of power in the wake of the deadly pro-Trump Capitol riots.

Former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton arrived with their husbands, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, around 10 a.m. local time.

The former first couples arrived just as some of the most recognizable names in Congress also began to show up. Biden, 78, and his wife, incoming First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, exited a motorcade with Harris, 56, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, the soon-to-be second gentleman.

Among the stars at the ceremonies were Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, who will perform, as well as Rosario Dawson with her boyfriend, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

Departing President Donald Trump and his family left the White House earlier in the day and headed to his private club in Florida, ending his four-year term in office that had been punctuated by his refusal to acknowledge his defeat.

While Trump, 74, declined to participate in the customary tradition of attending the next president's swearing-in, departing Vice President Mike Pence and other headlining Republicans opted to attend.

Joining Pence, 61, were other one-time Trump loyalists like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Along with them, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Bernie Sanders, were spotted by news cameras as they found their seats.

McConnell, who blamed Trump for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot earlier this week, attended with wife Elaine Chao, the former transportation secretary who resigned from the Trump administration after the Capitol attack.

Trump's absence and his former allies' appearances were noteworthy, but the otherwise normalcy of the guest list was most striking. In one subtly defiant scene that would've gone unnoticed at inaugurals before, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime critic of the former president, stood next to McConnell inside the Capitol, where they waited for the Inauguration Day ceremonies to begin.

"This is an effort to show some semblance of a normal inauguration," CNN host Wolf Blitzer remarked, as cameras on the news network showed the bipartisan guests arriving Wednesday morning.

Biden and Harris will take the oaths of office around noon local time, officially becoming the next president and vice president of the United States.

Source: Read Full Article