President’s ‘Medicare cuts on his way out the door … will look like Trump’s fault’
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.”