Biden and Harris Take Oaths in Muted, High Security Ceremony

WASHINGTON—Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th U.S. president, assuming charge of a nation ravaged by a pandemic and shaken by the recent storming of the U.S. Capitol, where he took his oath of office.

At a midday ceremony on a day that lacked much of the customary pomp and circumstance due to health and safety concerns, Mr. Biden was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, repeating the oath on the west steps of the Capitol with his hand on a family Bible. The inauguration Wednesday was attended by a relatively small, distanced audience, a contrast to the crowds that typically line the National Mall to celebrate a new administration.

In a moment of national crisis, Mr. Biden’s aides have said he will use the scaled-back affair to try to begin delivering on his promise to heal the nation. During his inaugural address, the president-elect is expected to embrace his campaign message of unity and discuss his plans for combating the virus and boosting the economy.

“It’s a new day in America,” Mr. Biden tweeted Wednesday, hours ahead of the ceremony.

“It’s a new day in America,”

Kamala Harris was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, making history as the first female vice president. The first Black woman and first of Indian descent nominated on a major party’s ticket, she becomes the highest-ranking woman ever in the presidential line of succession.

The day opened with a final split-screen involving the two presidential rivals. As President Trump boarded Air Force One for his final trip to Florida as president, Mr. Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, departed Blair House, where they spent the night, to head to Mass with congressional leaders as he seeks to project unity in his early days in office.

Mr. Trump, who has chosen not to attend his successor’s inauguration, exited the White House shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday, on the way to Joint Base Andrews, where he took part in a brief farewell ceremony before flying to his private club in Florida. After social-media platforms such as Twitter banned him, he has been a muted presence during his final days in office, but issued a flurry of pardons to allies and celebrities hours before he left.

Before family and friends gathered at Andrews, Mr. Trump said it had been an “incredible four years.” He listed some of his policy achievements, offered his respects to the people who have suffered from the pandemic and said it was his “greatest honor and privilege to have been your president.”

“I wish the new administration great luck and great success,”

“I wish the new administration great luck and great success,” he said without naming Mr. Biden, before adding: “We will be back in some form.”

He departed on Air Force One just before 9 a.m.and landed in Florida just before 11 a.m.

Mr. Trump is the first president to skip the inauguration of his successor since President Andrew Johnson declined to attend the swearing-in for Ulysses Grant in 1869. After losing the presidential race, Mr. Trump refused to accept the results for months and insisted he was the victim of fraud, even though his former attorney general, William Barr, and other federal law-enforcement officials have said there was no evidence of fraud that could change the election outcome.

As Mr. Trump departed Washington, Mr. Biden and Dr. Biden traveled to the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, where they attended Mass in Washington with four congressional leaders: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Mr. Biden will be the second Catholic to serve as president after President Kennedy.

Under heavy security, Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris will be sworn in on the west side of the Capitol during an event that will also featured Lady Gaga singing the national anthem and other musical performances.

When she is sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Ms. Harris will make history as the first female vice president. The first Black woman and first of Indian descent nominated on a major party’s ticket, she will be the highest-ranking woman ever in the presidential line of succession.

The inauguration also marks a shift to Democratic control in Washington, with the party holding the White House and narrow majorities in the House and the Senate. It will end Mr. Trump’s administration, one week after the House impeached him on the charge that he incited the mob of supporters who overran the Capitol on Jan. 6. Mr. Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the efforts a continuation of what he has termed a Democratic witch hunt.

Washington was on edge in the days leading up to the inauguration. Participants attending an inauguration rehearsal Monday on the West front of the Capitol were evacuated by security officials after a fire at a nearby location. Security was also boosted in state capitals across the country.