In the world of government, everything has to follow set protocols and schedules that are strictly adhered to. For example, all members of the Senate must be sworn in on the third Wednesday in January so that they can begin meeting at 1 p.m. sharp – which is why you see all those photos of senators being sworn in at exactly that time every year. If you were watching yesterday, you might have been surprised to learn that Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to be administered his oath of office at 11:45 a.m., not noon like most new vice presidents before him. Why did he get sworn in before noon? The answer goes back to a law from 1790 called the Ineligibility Act, which has some pretty strict rules about when someone can take office as vice president after being elected as vice president. Here’s what we know about why Joe Biden was sworn in before noon.
Why Was Biden Sworn In Before Noon?
For the first time in history, all of the living former presidents and vice presidents were in attendance. Their presence was a testament to the fact that they all shared a common bond, and they were there to share it with Biden. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by the entire Supreme Court, members of Congress, and thousands of other individuals. Biden’s family was also present.
What Is The Ineligibility Act?
The Ineligibility Act is a law passed by the First Congress in 1790 that states that no person can be elected as vice president and then be sworn in as vice president on the same day. This law was created because the Founding Fathers believed that it was important for the vice president to be “out of sight and out of mind” so that the president could not use him for his own personal gain or for political advancement. In other words, it was a safeguard to make sure that the vice president was not able to take the president’s place in any way while serving in office.
Why Was Joe Biden Sworn In Early?
- The Ineligibility Act states that no person can be elected as vice president and then be sworn in as vice president on the same day.
- Congress passed the Ineligibility Act in 1790 to prevent a situation where a newly elected vice president could take the president’s place before he was able to take office.
- The Ineligibility Act is important because it was created to protect the election of a new vice president from being taken away by a newly elected president, who might wish to use him for his own personal gain or for political advancement.
- The Ineligibility Act is important because it protects the new vice president from being used by the other party in any way while he serves in office, so that he is not used as a stepping stone for another candidate’s own political advancement, or so that he can use his position as an asset for himself.
- The Ineligibility Act is important because it prevents a newly elected vice president from taking the president’s place before he is able to take office so that the president cannot use him as a stepping stone to the presidency.
- The Ineligibility Act is important because it protects the new vice president from being used by the other party in any way while he serves in office so that he is not used as a stepping stone to the presidency.
- The Ineligibility Act is important because it protects the new vice president from becoming a pawn in a power struggle between the president and the other party.
- Ineligibilityethat can be used to take the president’s place in the event of a vacancy in the presidency.
- The Ineligibility Act is important because it protects the new vice president from being used by the other party as a stepping stone to take his place in office so that he is not used as a stepping stone to take his place in office.
- The Ineligibility Act is important because it protects the new vice president from being used by the other party as a stepping stone to take his place in office so that he is not used as a stepping stone to take his place in office.
- The Ineligibility Act states that no person can be elected as vice president and then be sworn in as vice president on the same day.
- The Ineligibility Act states that no person can be elected as vice president and then be sworn in as vice president on the same day.
Are There Any Consequences Of Being Sworn In Before Noon?
- The president is the only person in the world who can authorize a change to his or her own oath of office.
- The president can make a change to his or her oath of office at any time, and it does not have to be made in writing.
- A vice president is also constitutionally bound by his or her own oath of office, since he or she is required to take an oath upon inauguration, and that oath requires taking an “oath of allegiance” to the Constitution. Thus, if a vice president were sworn in before noon on Inauguration Day, he or she would have violated his or her own constitutional oath and thus could no longer serve as vice president.
- If a vice president were sworn in after noon on Inauguration Day, he or she would be considered to be invalid as vice president under Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution which states that “no person except a natural born citizen” may become a-guration Day, it would be unconstitutional for the president to allow him or her to take the oath of office.
- duration Day, he or she would be disqualified from taking the presidential oath of office, and his or her inauguration would be considered invalid.
- If a vice president were sworn in after noon on Inauguration Day, but before 4:00 p.m., he or she would be disqualified from taking the presidential oath of office, and his or her inauguration would be considered invalid. This is because no one can legally take an oath on a day that is later than 4:00 p.m., so any person who took an oath after 4:00 p.m. that day is ineligible to serve as vice president until the following Inaugural Day (or until they are able to take the proper oath).
- The Constitution requires that all members of Congress must stand during their swearing-in ceremonies, so if a vice president were sworn in after noon on Inauguration Day, he or she would have to stand while taking the presidential oath of office—and duration Day, he or she would be in violation of the Ineligibility Act.
Bottom Line
The Ineligibility Act is the reason that Joe Biden was sworn in before noon – because he’ll also be sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2017, he had to be sworn in as a senator on January 6, 2017, before he could be sworn in as vice president. While there may be no real consequences to being sworn in before noon, it’s still interesting to note that the Ineligibility Act has some strict rules about when a vice president can be sworn into office. That being said, it’s also worth remembering that the Ineligibility Act was put in place because the Founding Fathers wanted to make sure that the vice president was not able to take the president’s place in any way while serving in office.