Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is scheduled to join religious leaders on Dec. 16 for the ceremonial lighting of the National Menorah.  

The 35^th annual holiday gathering is expected to take place on the Ellipse at 4 p.m. The gates are projected to open earlier to accommodate seasonal visitors. “We are honored that Vice President Joe Biden will be attending the lighting ceremony of the National Menorah on Dec. 16,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), which sponsors the annual event, said of the high profile get.  

Per Shemtov, Biden is the second highest-ranking administration official to participate in the pyrotechnics; he said President Jimmy Carter lent a hand during the debut outing back in 1979. In 2010, then-Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob J. Lew helped spark things as well.  

An ad for the religious festivities promises “hot latkes and donuts” as well as performances by the United States Army Band, recording artist Alex Clare, and Dreidelman and The Macabees.  

Shemtov told HOH a number of members have expressed interest in attending this year’s outing. But with appropriators scrambling to wrap things up by week’s end, it remains unclear if any sitting pols will be around to witness the flaming tribute.  

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