Swearing-In Ceremony for President George W. Bush

Fifty-Fifth Inaugural Ceremonies, January 20, 2005

Program

Prelude

The United States Marine Band; Lieutenant Colonel Michael J. Colburn, Director

Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks

Trent Lott

Invocation

The Reverend Dr. Luis León

Musical Selection

Susan Graham

Mezzo-soprano

Vice Presidential Oath of Office

Administered to Dick Cheney by the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Musical Selection

Denyce Graves

Presidential Oath of Office

Administered to George W. Bush by the Honorable William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States.

Bible Used: Family Bible, open to Isaiah 40:31
Attire: Dark business suit, blue tie

Inaugural Address

‘On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution and recall the deep commitments that unite our country.’

Read the address
(Words: 2065)

Musical Selection

The United States Marine Band, The United States Herald Trumpets and The United States Navy Sea Chanters

Benediction

Pastor Kirbyjon H. Caldwell

The National Anthem

Bradley Bennett

Location

West Front,
U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC

Weather

Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks. Northwest wind 14 mph. Around 1" of snow lay on the ground. 35°F noon temperature.

Facts, Firsts & Precedents

Largest inaugural platform to date.

First time anti-counterfeiting security has been designed into the tickets.

First live Web Cam of inaugural platform construction.

First inauguration with secure inaugural credentials.

Inaugural Committee

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), Chair
Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN)
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)
Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Theme: A Vision of America

Two centuries ago, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition sighted the Pacific Ocean, reaching the end of its mission to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Two years earlier, the Senate had approved the treaty purchasing the territory from France, which doubled the size of the United States. President Thomas Jefferson then sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on a mission to explore the new territory, both as a scientific venture and to consider its commercial possibilities. In his 1805 inaugural address, Jefferson celebrated the expansion of the country as a means of preserving and protecting the American Nation. “The larger our association, the less will it be shaken by local passions,” he reasoned; “and in any view, is it not better that the opposite bank of the Mississippi should be settled by our own brethren and children, than by strangers of another family?”

Video

U.S. Senate Recording Studio

The 2004 election made President George W. Bush the first presidential candidate since 1988 to win a majority of the popular vote, with 51 percent. Owing to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush's second swearing-in saw the tightest security measures of any inaugural ceremony. An ailing Chief Justice Rehnquist administered the oath of office for the final time on the largest inaugural platform built to date.