Roberts and Sotomayor deliver, Obama flubs slightly
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. administered the oath of office to President Barack Obama this past inaugural weekend – twice – before a national audience. And this time, unlike in 2009, he did it without incident.
The Supreme Court chief, known for his memorization skills as an appellate advocate, famously flubbed the oath the first time he swore in Obama four years ago. This weekend – both in the private official swearing in ceremony at the White House on Sunday and then again on the steps of the Capitol building on Monday – Roberts played it safe by reading the 35-word oath from a cue card.
Still, the pressure got to Obama: he stumbled over the word “States.” But he’s still the president.
Sonia Sotomayor administered the much longer oath of office to President Biden twice – once in a private ceremony at the Naval Observatory, then again at Monday’s Capitol affair – over the long weekend as well, making her first Hispanic justice to do so.
Learn more about the justices – including the reason why Sotomayor’s robe looks different than those of her eight colleagues – on our Supreme Court Report.
