Prior to 1937, Inauguration Day was March 4. In the past it took time for states to send representatives – by horse – to the Capitol for the electoral vote counts where the vice president would announce the winner. In 1937, following the ratification of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, Inauguration Day was moved to Jan. 20 to “limit the chances of chaos, instability and a leaderless government,” according to George Washington University historian Matt Dallek.
Today we have cars, airplanes, cellphones and computers. France inaugurates its president just 10 days after election. In the U.K. the winner of the general election is inaugurated the next day.
What’s the problem with waiting 11 weeks to inaugurate the president? The problem is that during the “lame-duck” session, the losing political party exploits America, ramrodding legislation and executive action through the government, which is likely against the will of the voters who just cast their votes during the election.
A prime example of this is the $45 billion Ukrainian war slush fund passed by the Democrat-controlled Congress in December of 2022 as part of the 1.7 trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill. This happened before the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in January of 2023. The House controls the money, and a Republican House would not have passed this exorbitant bill “shoved down the throat” of representatives by Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell.
Recent examples of why Inauguration Day needs to be moved are numerous among all the shenanigans of the Biden/Harris administration. President-elect Donald Trump thanked Biden for a “smooth transition” during their White House meeting Nov. 13, 2024, but just days later the Biden/Harris administration gave terrorist-supporting Iran $10 billion in sanctions relief.
Further escalating war, Nov. 20 Biden sent civilian-killing anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine, staying true to his Democrat character, by reversing his 2022 pledge not to send land mines. Both the U.N. Secretary-General and human rights groups “strongly condemn” Biden’s decision, calling it “devastating and frankly shocking.”
By Nov. 21, Biden was loosening immigration restrictions in a “last ditch effort” to let more illegal immigrants into the country, after Biden’s 2023 historical record of admitting 3.2 million illegal immigrants, surpassing the 2022 previous record of 2.7 million. These are just the ones we know about.
Dec.1 President Biden, reversed his June pledge and pardoned Hunter Biden of all crimes from 2014 forward, making Joe the first president in history to pardon his criminal son. Hunter Biden owed millions in taxes, but they think that’s admissible for the “political elite.”
Doubling down on stupid, Biden commuted 1,500 jail sentences and granted 39 pardons to others in the “largest single-day grant of clemency” in modern history. This included 37 death row inmates, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole, to prevent Trump’s administration from carrying out executions not possible under Biden’s 2021 moratorium.
Does Joe think himself an emissary of the pope by selling indulgences and absolution, as penance in his last years?
Nov. 21 Biden said he was sending an additional $275 million to Ukraine. By Dec. 12 the amount was $500 million. By Dec. 30 it was $5.9 billion in military and budget aid, which brings us back to what Secretary of State Antony Blinken actually promised Nov. 13 when he assured NATO that Biden would funnel billions to Ukraine prior to Trump’s return. Sadly, no one really knows how much money has been given to Ukraine, but Democrats spent themselves $20 million into the hole with the Harris campaign and require more embezzled money for their coffers for the 2026 and 2028 elections.
Dec. 11 Biden began sneaking in more Medicare cuts on his way out the door. Despite its popularity, Medicare Advantage is being undermined by the Biden administration, putting partisan politics ahead of the well-being of seniors. For two years, Biden’s administration has been reducing the funding for Medicare Advantage disguised as “payment adjustments” resulting in higher premiums, reduced benefits and narrower provider networks. Two days before Thanksgiving 2024, the administration began a “regulatory review,” which moves this rate review too far down the tracks during the lame-duck period for Trump’s team to unwind the process. Federal statute states that the last day to release advance notice of the 2026 Medicare Advantage rate changes is the first week of February 2025 – just a couple of weeks after President Trump’s inauguration. So, Biden is setting up a cut to Medicare Advantage that will look like Trump’s fault, since it will occur after Trump takes office.
Nov. 13 Biden imposed a new methane emission tax as part of his sweeping climate legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act, which even Biden says was a misnomer for the bill.
Dec. 10 Biden approved a project to limit Trump-era oil and gas leases in Alaska, only allowing the sale of leases the last two weeks before his term ends. The people of Alaska were outraged, the action being called a “fitting finale” for Biden’s oil-destroying policies.
Dec. 11 it was reported that Biden “plans to exhaust the remainder of the CHIPs and Science Act’s multibillion-dollar appropriations before President-elect Trump takes office.” There is $28 billion of $53 billion left to be spent, but Biden’s administration plans to spend the rest of the money on “[B]inge buying shopping sprees by bureaucrats shoveling billions out the door before” Biden’s term expires, according to Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. “It’s difficult to believe the same level of oversight will be given to the last-minute expenditures as there likely was for the first two years’ worth,” notes Ernst.
… and there’s more.
Proving once again that Whoopi Goldberg has no idea what she is talking about, she defended Biden’s decisions, stating, “He can do whatever he wants.” Whoopi apparently doesn’t understand the U.S. has a representative government meant to do the will of the people, not the will of the Bidens, or whoever else is pulling their strings.
Inauguration Day needs to be moved much closer to Election Day to “limit the chances of chaos, instability and a leaderless government” and to stop the preinaugural sabotage.