WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks during the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. During today's inauguration ceremony Joe Biden become … ((Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
(FOX 9) - Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar played a big role in the inauguration ceremonies at the Capitol on Wednesday.
As the lead Democrat on the Senate committee in charge of planning the festivities, Klobuchar was front and center throughout the ceremony.
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U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar opens Joe Biden’s inauguration
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar who's on the committee that planned the inaugural, speaks on stage ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration.
"Two weeks ago when an angry violent mob staged an insurrection and desecrated this temple of our democracy, it awakened us to our responsibilities as Americans," said Klobuchar.
Klobuchar said that it’s not just the responsibility of the new president and vice president, but the responsibility of the United States to use that moment to be stronger and better.
"Now it falls on all of us, not just the two leaders we are inaugurating today to take up the torch of our democracy -- not as a weapon of political arson, but as an instrument for good," she said.
The senator also paid tribute to health care workers and police. She highlighted the historical importance of Kamala Harris becoming the first Black and Asian-American woman vice president. Klobuchar also took a slight jab at the outgoing administration.
"We celebrate a new president, Joe Biden who vows to restore the soul of America and cross the river of our divides to a higher plain," she said.
After Jennifer Lopez sang "God Bless America," Klobuchar also got the honor of introducing the Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, who administered the oath of office to President Joe Biden.