President Donald Trump will not attend the January 20 inauguration of his successor, Joe Biden, but
will stay until the last minute in the White House
and even plan to hold his own farewell ceremony, while Congress weighs an
impeachment.
against him for inciting a violent assault on the Capitol.
Trump will leave the presidential mansion before 11 a.m. (Eastern Time), just before the arrival of Biden, whose term begins at noon, according to officials of his administration told The Washington Post and the agency of news The Associated Press.
Trump has already indicated that he will not participate in the Democrat's inauguration,
breaking a political tradition of decades if not centuries
.
The vice president, Mike Pence, has said that he will be present, and has also telephoned
the vice president-elect, Kamala Harris, to congratulate her
, according to the Associated Press announced on Friday.
It is the first known direct contact between the heads of the incoming and outgoing Administrations.
The White House has been nearly empty in the last week after a group of pro-Trump protesters stormed Congress.
AP
While Trump has remained largely behind closed doors furious since his electoral defeat, and busy questioning the results in false and dangerous ways, Pence has been fulfilling many of the ceremonial duties of the presidency, including greeting members of the Guard. National who now protect the Capitol building.
Washington is shielded by the military from threats from pro-Trump extremist groups.
The president will leave the capital
two weeks after inciting the violent insurrection
and with a request for impeachment against him.
The last president to bypass his successor's inauguration was Andrew Johnson in 1869 (like Trump, Johnson also faced
impeachment
).
Although the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, has not committed to meeting a specific schedule, she is expected to
send the impeachment against Trump to the Senate
next week, according to a source close to CNN.
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The Senate has a session scheduled for January 19, hours before the president's departure.
So far, the start of the process is in the hands of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican.
Most of the Republican senators have not defined their position.
[FBI warns of bomb danger as security is further tightened in DC]
The president spent months making unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud, in an attempt to deny his defeat, until the deadly assault on Capitol Hill occurred.
Now he would have
plans to say goodbye with his own ceremony
, while the inauguration takes place, something unprecedented.
It will be at Joint Base Andrews, on the outskirts of Washington, where Air Force One is kept, according to The Washington Post.
Trump is expected to later begin his post-presidential life
in Florida
with a small group of aides.
His political future, if any, will depend on the outcome of the
impeachment
.
With information from the Associated Press, The Washington Post and CNN.