President Barack Obama recited the oath of office without fanfare—and without error—in the Blue Room of the White House on Sunday.
The president officially began his second term in the company of his family and Chief Justice John Roberts, who administered the oath. The chief justice read from an “oath card” during the private ceremony, which both men had exchanged and practiced to avoid the flubbed lines that marked 2009’s swearing-in.
President Obama recited the oath of office with his hand atop first lady Michelle Obama’s family Bible. Following the brief ceremony, the president received praise from his daughters: “I’m so happy!” Malia Obama told her father, followed by Sasha Obama’s, “Good job, Dad. You didn’t mess up.”
The official inauguration began at 11:55 a.m. ET on the dot, as the 20th Amendment stipulates that the president must be sworn-in by noon on Jan. 20. Congress made that change in 1932 amid the Great Depression so that future presidents wouldn’t be hampered by a four-month lag time between being elected and being sworn-in.
On Monday, President Obama will be sworn-in publicly, along with Vice President Joe Biden, who had his own private swearing-in ceremony on Sunday morning.
Cara Maresca