WASHINGTON – Work on the presidential inauguration platform began Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol with congressional leaders pounding the first ceremonial nails into a stage they cast as a symbol of America's commitment to the peaceful transfer of power — a tradition that was almost upended in 2021 when Donald Trump's supporters violently stormed the Capitol.
As Republican and Democratic leaders gathered in a moment of bipartisanship with Washington’s National Mall spread before them, no direct mention was made of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack where Trump’s supporters used pipes, lumber and other materials from the inauguration stage to attack law enforcement and halt the certification of the election.
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But memories of that day, and heightened worries about violence in this year's tense election season after the latest apparent assassination attempt against Trump, shadowed the event.
“These workers will literally set the stage for the peaceful transfer of power,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Minnesota Democrat who chairs the joint committee overseeing preparations for the inauguration.
Preparations for the last inauguration became an integral part of the violence that unfolded at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with rioters swarming the stage and the tall press platform that stands in front of it during their siege of the building.
Workers who were putting finishing touches on the structure had to flee that morning as rioters closed in. They later had to clean up the debris and rebuild parts of the stage for President Joe Biden's inauguration two weeks later.
Klobuchar, flanked by construction workers in hard hats and reflective vests, cast the presidential inauguration next year as an opportunity to “celebrate our democracy and the sacred values that tie us together as a nation.”
Earlier Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who is also on the committee, took aim at Democrats for describing Trump as a threat to democracy, but also called on “everybody” to scale back their attacks.
“Let’s have a vigorous debate on the policy differences, on the records, but let’s turn the rhetoric down because we’re not going to be able to sustain that,” Johnson, R-La., said.
Adding to the symbolism, the six congressional leaders noted the event also coincided with the anniversary of George Washington laying the cornerstone of the Capitol.
Lawmakers hammered a handful of the roughly 500,000 nails that will hold the stage together. House Republican Leader Steve Scalise took to the task eagerly, using his left hand to finish ahead of his colleagues, while Klobuchar finished the ceremony with gusto, banging her hammer with a smile and a laugh.
When finished for the Jan. 20 ceremony, the platform will hold nearly 1,600 people — the president and vice president-elect, past presidents, foreign dignitaries, Supreme Court justices and congressional leaders — to mark the beginning of a new administration.
Above the ceremony, five American flags will fly. One will be the current flag, two have 13 stars for the original colonies, and two hold the number of stars as when the president's home state was admitted to the union.
There will either be a 31-star flag for Vice President Kamala Harris's California or a 27-star flag for Trump's Florida. And the next president will either be the first Black woman and the first South Asian American to serve as president or just the second to succeed in a comeback bid to the White House.
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Associated Press photographer J. Scott Applewhite contributed to this report.