It’s not yet clear where lawmakers will be for Trump’s inauguration after deciding to move the ceremony inside due to dangerously cold temperatures. The last indoor inauguration was in 1985 for former President Ronald Reagan’s second term due to windchill temperatures of -25 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Archived photos from the ceremony show a crowded group gathered in the Capitol Rotunda, but it’s not clear how many people were permitted inside — or how many were lawmakers versus donors or high-profile guests. 

A notice sent out to lawmakers and congressional staffers Friday indicated that all members of Congress would be invited to attend the indoor service, but it was unclear if the guidance was finalized or if some lawmakers may opt to skip the pomp and circumstance.

Still, interviews with lawmakers ahead of the last-minute change found that pro-impeachment Republicans were preparing to attend. 

INAUGURATION DAY 2025: EVERYTHING TO KNOW AHEAD OF TRUMP TAKING OFFICE

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), one of 10 House Republicans to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, told the Washington Examiner he planned to attend despite a frosty relationship with the president-elect over the last several years. Trump repeatedly pressed for primary challengers to the House Republicans who voted to oust him, but Newhouse is one of two House Republicans who has prevailed in his reelections and remains in office four years after the historic vote. 

Now, Newhouse said he is looking forward to a new chapter. 

“Obviously, if our country is going to be successful, the president has to be successful. I’ll be working hard to support him on moving good conservative policy forward,” he said. “I have heard him say several times that it’s time to look forward to the future. I’m confident that we’ll be able to work together, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t.”

Newhouse maintained he would remain independently minded by emphasizing the separation of powers between Congress and the White House. 

“We don’t just blindly follow,” he said. “We made sure that from our responsibilities, things are as they should be. That doesn’t always line up 100%. So, I’ll continue to fulfill my constitutional duty.”

It was not clear if Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), the other remaining House Republican to vote for impeachment, will attend inauguration. His office did not respond to a request for comment. 

Trump was twice impeached and twice acquitted by the Senate. However, seven Republican senators joined Democrats to convict him in his second trial for the Capitol riot. The three who remain in office also plan to attend inauguration. 

“Wouldn’t miss it. I’ve never missed anybody’s inauguration,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told the Washington Examiner. 

She briefly pondered whether it had ever occurred to her when voting to convict that she may one day attend another Trump inauguration.

“We are where we are, right?” Murkowski said. “We got an inauguration coming up Monday, and the good news is it’s going to be a peaceful transfer of power.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) also praised a “very smooth transition of power,” pointing to the Electoral Count Reform Act that was passed in 2022.

The bill, which Collins co-authored, raised the required threshold for Congress to object to the results to one-fifth of both chambers, making it more difficult to delay the election’s certification. Previous law dictated that only a single member from the House and Senate could submit an electoral objection.

“I think the reforms that we enacted with bipartisan support of updating the 1887 Electoral Count Act will make a difference,” Collins said. 

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was a bit more jaded in his response when prompted to square his vote to convict with attending Trump’s second inauguration.

“I’m looking forward to the inauguration. That’s all I can say,” he said. 

Cassidy faces an early primary challenge from Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, a former congressman. Both men are fighting for Trump’s endorsement, which was received by Cassidy in 2020. But that was before he voted to convict Trump.

“I was one of his staunch supporters in his previous term. Indeed, much of his healthcare agenda were things that I wrote and/or helped conceive of,” Cassidy added. “This is about the will of the American people being acknowledged.”

The other four GOP senators who voted to convict have since retired from the upper chamber. They include Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Pat Toomey (R-PA). 

It was not yet clear if any of the Republicans had changed their minds on attending due to the location switch. Many lawmakers and staffers told the Washington Examiner they had yet to receive guidance on how the day would proceed.