Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will become the first African-American justice to administer an oath of office, and he'll perform the function for Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Friday during Inauguration Day.
The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court generally administers the oath to the president-elect, but a number of different officials have overseen the oath for the vice-president-elect. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will swear President-elect Donald Trump into office. After that, Pence’s oath will be administered.
Meanwhile, Pence will take the oath of office on the family Bible of former President Ronald Reagan. Pence will also be the first president or vice-president to use Reagan’s Bible since the former president used it at his own inaugurations.
Of Reagan, Pence said he “set out to change a nation and in doing so, he changed the world. In the march of history, Ronald Reagan’s time in office was limited, but his legacy inspired a generation and will continue beyond,” ABC News reported.
As NBC reported, Trump will use the Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration as well as his own.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee said Trump’s Bible dates back to his childhood, and it was given to him by his mother when he graduated from Sunday Church Primary School at First Presbyterian Church in Queens, New York, in 1955.
President Barack Obama also used Lincoln’s Bible for both his inaugurations.
