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A decision was made this week that Biden would not take the 90-minute ride from his namesake station in Wilmington, Delaware, officials said, at least some of the concerns with his arrival at Union Station in Washington, a few blocks from the now heavily fortified US Capitol.
Biden had previously instructed his team to keep moving forward with groundbreaking plans, including taking the Amtrak, and not be deterred by the deadly riot on the U.S. Capitol last week or by the complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
But since then, security concerns have intensified as more has been learned about the attack on Capitol Hill by supporters of President Donald Trump, which left five dead, and the potential threats surrounding the January 20 inauguration.
Biden received a briefing from senior FBI officials, Secret Service and key members of his national security team on Wednesday about the potential for further extremist violence in the coming days, the president-elect’s transition team said in a statement. .
“In the week following the attack on Congress by a mob of domestic terrorists and violent extremists, the nation continued to learn more about the threat to our democracy and the potential to further violence in the coming days, both in the nation’s capital. Region and cities across the country, “the Transition Team’s statement read.” It’s a challenge the President-elect and his team take incredibly seriously.
Biden’s transition team engages with the Trump administration to “get as much information as possible about the threat’s image and the preparations in place to deter and defend against disruption or violent attacks “, according to the press release.
Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are still expected to be sworn in on the Western Front of the U.S. Capitol in a greatly reduced event. Biden said this week he was “not afraid to take the oath on the outside” and that his team had received reports following the violence.
More than 20,000 National Guard soldiers could be in Washington to help secure Biden’s inauguration, Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said on Wednesday and sources told CNN officials are considering increasing the level of terrorist threat. The U.S. Secret Service officially took over the security of Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, working in coordination with federal law enforcement and the Pentagon.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Geneva Sands contributed to this report.
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