According to Politico, Sunday’s rehearsal for Joe Biden’s inauguration has been postponed due to safety concerns, with the rehearsal now being planned for Monday. Because of “heightened security concerns,” Biden’s team also canceled an Amtrak trip from Wilmington, Delaware, to Washington, D.C., which was originally planned for Monday.
The presidential inaugural committee declined to comment on the delay, and the Secret Service and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies did not respond to requests for comment from Politico.
After the violent events which occurred in Washington, D.C., on January 6th, ensuring security is of paramount importance for many involved in the inauguration set to take place on January 20th. According to Reuters, “Officials have warned of plans for armed protests in Washington and all 50 states and activist groups have been concerned about the potential for violence,” while Politico reported that “the House Oversight Committee sent letters to 27 transportation and lodging companies … urging them to implement ‘screening measures’ to ensure their services aren’t used to facilitate domestic terrorist plots surrounding Biden’s inauguration.”
In addition, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy has given the green light to place “up to 21,000 National Guard troops in and around Washington, D.C. in the days up to and during the Biden inauguration,” with that total outnumbering “all the U.S. troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Biden’s team announced that Lisa Monaco, a former homeland security advisor who is Biden’s deputy attorney general nominee, will “assist the President-elect,” and “work with the incoming national security advisor, the incoming homeland security advisor and current security and law enforcement officials, including with the United States Secret Service, on their plans for the inauguration.”
When acting Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli was asked by CNN about the rehearsal’s schedule change, he said that “The decision was made to delay a day and leave the Secret Service in a position, and the whole team across the Washington metro area, to be prepared to respond on that day if needed.” While he cited “online chatter,” regarding the original rehearsal plans, he said that there were “no specific credible threats.”