A number of state and local Ohio politicians plan to travel to Washington this week for President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing-in as the nation’s 45th president. The Inaugural Ceremony will be held Friday, January 20, at the U.S. Capitol, marking the end of President Barack Obama's eight years in the White House.
Republican State Rep. NirajAntani, of Ohio's 42nd district, is going, and says he’s looking forward to experiencing the inauguration in person.
“Regardless of party, an inauguration is historic and it’s a celebration, not only for our party this time, but for the country. So, I think we should be excited regardless of who is getting inaugurated, and our country will do better,” he says.
Inauguration Day festivities include an inaugural address by the new president, a parade and ball. All living former presidents and their families are expected to attend, except George H.W. Bush, and including former presidential-hopeful Hillary Clinton.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend inauguration-related events. Many more Trump-supporters are expected to watch on video screens installed on the National Mall. Large numbers of protesters are also expected in Washington throughout the weekend. These include more than 100,000 people organizers expect for the Jan. 21 Women's March on Washington.
Antanisays he’s looking forward to the federal government coming back under GOP control.
“We’ve had good majorities in a lot of different states for the last eight years but haven’t had the White House, and so I think we are looking forward to having a unified Republican government, with both a Republican White House and a fully Republican Congress," he says. "I think it’s our time to show the country we can govern and that our ideas work to make things better.”
Gov. John Kasich, who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination, also plans to attend the inauguration. Kasich is also expected to speak the day before at a health care event about Medicaid expansion.
