President-elect Joe Biden has accepted an invitation from the White House to stay at Blair House, known as the President’s Guest House, the night before his inauguration next Wednesday, according to a report.
Biden will be among previous presidents-elect who have stayed at the historic home across from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue before Inauguration Day, a State Department official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.
“As is customary, the White House offered use of the Blair House for Jan 19th and it was accepted,” a spokesperson said.
The State Department oversees the use of Blair House, but the president typically offers the invitation to his successor.
President Trump has said he will not attend the inauguration ceremony at the Capitol, breaking with decades of tradition after Biden defeated him in the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend.
A moving truck was seen Wednesday afternoon at the White House with workers unloading cardboard boxes as the Trump family prepares to vacate Washington, DC, and return to the president’s exclusive Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.
Biden enters Washington as the nation’s capital is on edge after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol last Wednesday, breaking windows to get inside and sending lawmakers fleeing for safety in undisclosed locations.
Five people died because of the mayhem, including a Capitol Police officer who passed away the following day from wounds he received as he defended the facility from the rioters.
In the days since, National Guard troops have been out in force, preparing to guard it against further attacks as Inauguration Day approaches.
Some of the thousands of Guardsmen slept in the halls of the US Capitol on the eve of President Trump’s second impeachment, the first time since the Civil War.
The number of National Guard troops in Washington exceeds the amount of troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Despite the threats of violence, Biden has said that he is not afraid to take the oath of office outside.
“But I think it’s critically important that there be a real, serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition, threatened people’s lives, defaced public property, caused great damage, that they be held accountable,” he said of the Capitol riots as he received the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Monday.
The Biden inaugural ceremonies are expected to be a largely scaled-down affair because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, but the president-elect has still managed to attract some high-wattage star power.
Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem and Jennifer Lopez is expected to perform.
Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute primetime TV special featuring Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi and Demi Lovatto.
