Inauguration ceremony will be held outside Capitol, Biden spokesperson says

Incoming White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said Sunday that the inauguration ceremony for President-elect Joe Biden will take place on the west side of the U.S. Capitol building as planned.

“I think that will send an incredibly important visual image to the world about the resilience of American democracy, and so our plan and our expectation is that President-Elect Biden will put his hand on the Bible with his family outside on the west side of the Capitol on the 20th,” Bedingfield said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” of Wednesday's event.

Bedingfield’s comments came in response to concerns over security in the area, following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The U.S. Capitol has been locked down by security officials since then, and thousands of National Guard troops are expected to assist in securing the area.

A few inauguration plans have already been altered over these concerns — an inauguration rehearsal scheduled for Sunday was postponed to Monday and Biden’s planned Amtrak train ride from Wilmington to Washington was canceled.

Bedingfield said there is no question the country is in a “volatile time,” and that the Biden team is “preparing for any scenario that should arise after noon on January the 20th” with outgoing leadership in national security and law enforcement.

“We're working to ensure that we will be prepared, but we have full faith in the United States Secret Service and their partners who have been working for over a year on the planning to ensure that this event is safe,” she added.