The transition of power is underway in Washington, D.C., as the smaller than usual crowd is assembling for the Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
For the first time in a century and a half, a tradition is being broken, as sitting president Donald Trump is not in attendance for the swearing-in of his replacement.
Trump did however keep alive a newer tradition started by Ronald Reagan, which he started in 1989, when he left a personal, hand-written note for incoming President George H.W. Bush.
The tradition continued, through the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and then Barack Obama. No details of the content of the note Trump left for Biden have been revealed, as it is something solely meant for the eyes of presidents only.
Another order of business has to be tended to today, the passing of the nuclear codes from one president to the next. Usually it involves the handing off of a briefcase, but today it will be passed between the two leaders through a long-distance handoff Fox News reported. The briefcases are called “nuclear footballs,” and one of them went to Florida Wednesday with Trump. Those codes will be deactivated at noon Eastern, as Biden takes the oath of office in Washington.
At the moment, the launch codes on the card that Biden will have become active. That’s another tradition that will be broken today, the actual handing off of the nuclear footballs between outgoing and incoming presidents.
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