WORLD BRIEFLY Biden says the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered ratified

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the U.S. Constitution, making a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality.

“The Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land,” Biden said even though presidents have no role in the constitutional process. He did not direct the leader of the National Archives to certify the amendment, as some activists have called for, sidestepping a legal battle.

It was the latest in a collection of pronouncements that Biden has made in the waning days of his presidency as he tries to tie up loose ends and embroider his legacy despite leaving after only one term. He’s also called for a ban on stock trading for members of Congress and proposed term limits for Supreme Court justices — ideas that lingered for years before Biden endorsed them.

With his popularity low and political influence running dry before he’s replaced by Donald Trump on Monday, Biden’s statements have stirred aggravation among some allies who believe he should have acted more swiftly and spoken out earlier.

The Equal Rights Amendment, which would ban discrimination based on gender, was sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2000, although years past the deadline set by Congress, leading to a legal standoff over whether it could be considered valid.

Democrats and activists have long pressed to consider the amendment as ratified, but Biden did not say he agreed until Friday.

“I wish it was done sooner because it’s so important,” said Christian F. Nunes, leader of the National Organization for Women. “The fact that it’s getting done now is more important than the fact that it took long, but we can’t continue to delay women’s protections and equal rights in this country.”

Trump’s swearingin will move inside the Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of intense cold weather, upending months of meticulous planning for a massive outdoor event with crowds sprawling down the National Mall.

“The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way.”

The Rotunda is prepared as an alternative for each inauguration in the event of inclement weather. The swearing-in was last moved indoors in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan began his second term. Monday’s forecast calls for the lowest Inauguration Day temperatures since that day.

Outgoing President Joe Biden, members of Congress and some other dignitaries and notable guests will be able to view the ceremony from inside the Capitol Rotunda. But even if they are standing shoulder-to-shoulder packing the Rotunda as in 1985, many will be forced to watch the swearing-in from elsewhere.