President-elect Joe Biden attended church for a pre-inauguration service, where he was joined by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in a showing of national unity.
Joined by incoming First Lady Jill Biden, the 46th commander-in-chief was picked up by Secret Service from Blair House, the White House’s guest house where the couple stayed Tuesday evening, and departed for Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
Seated in the front row dressed in different shades of blue, the Bidens were joined by their two living children, Ashley and Hunter Biden, along with both of their spouses.
In the two rows behind: the Biden grandchildren, all the offspring of the late Beau Biden and Hunter.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and incoming Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were seated one section to the Biden’s right in the church, with the incoming VP seen in a long purple coat.
Down the row from the second couple were their two children, Cole and Ella, both of whom Emhoff had from a previous marriage.
Members of the Biden and Harris families were seen entering the DC-based church shortly before 9 a.m. ET.
Biden invited Sen. McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Schumer (D-NY), Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. McCarthy (R-Calif.) to join him at the downtown DC cathedral in an effort to begin the healing of partisan wounds nationwide, a pledge of the incoming president throughout his campaign.
Sources confirmed to The Post on Tuesday that the House and Senate leaders had accepted the incoming president’s invitation.
All seated in different rows to adhere to social distancing, Pelosi, McConnell and Schumer could all be seen toward the front of the cathedral, along with their respective spouses.
McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who resigned as President Trump’s transportation secretary in the wake of the Capitol riots, wore an all black ensemble.
Pelosi, meanwhile, wore a bright blue outfit with a matching mask.
Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also attended the affair in their capacity as chairs of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
President Trump, meanwhile, opted against attending the church service or the inauguration, making him the first president to skip the ceremony in over 150 years.
The Washington DC church was the incoming president’s only stop prior to his inauguration ceremony, which he headed to directly following the service.
The mass was held at a Catholic parish because of Biden’s Catholic faith. He will be the second Catholic president, preceded by John F. Kennedy.
Father Kevin O’Brien, who also serves as president of Santa Clara University, delivered the homily and the St. Augustine Choir performed.
Presidents attending church before their swearing in is not an uncommon practice. Former Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all attended services the morning of their inaugurations.
