President-elect Joe Biden will no longer take an Amtrak train to Washington before Inauguration Day next week, according to a person familiar with the plans. It is not yet clear how Biden will travel to the inauguration.
On Tuesday, Biden’s team was still planning the train’s arrival event, CBS News was told. But the sudden change in plans came when the president-elect was briefed on Wednesday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service about security concerns surrounding inauguration day after the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill.
A spokesman for Biden’s inaugural committee declined to comment on the change in plans.
“The team is engaging with the current government to obtain as much information as possible about the image of the threat and the preparations being made to prevent and defend against interruptions or violent attacks,” said Biden’s transition team in a statement on Wednesday.
“The transition of power from one government to another is the cornerstone of American democracy,” added the statement. “President-elect Biden’s team will receive daily briefings on operational and security preparations to ensure the transition goes smoothly.”
Biden’s arrival on the Amtrak train would have reflected his decades-long trip from Delaware to Washington as a US senator. Biden was quick to boast about his approximately million kilometers traveled by train over the years.
CNN was the first to report a change in travel plans.
A Biden transition spokesman confirmed to CBS News that Lisa Monaco, former President Obama’s internal security adviser, will serve as a temporary adviser for the transition to internal security around tenure.
“Ms. Monaco will assist the elected president and work with the incoming National Security Advisor, the incoming Homeland Security Advisor and current security and police officials, including the United States Secret Service in their plans for tenure. Threats , Ms. Monaco’s temporary role will focus exclusively on the period leading up to the inauguration, “said a transition spokesman.
Monaco was appointed by Mr. Biden to serve as deputy attorney general. The transition said that Monaco “will discontinue activities and engagement related to his appointment to serve as Deputy Attorney General. This is a period of full involvement, but the goal is to quickly and perfectly hand over full responsibility to the incoming Homeland Security Advisor and staff. as soon as possible. “
The spokesman also reiterated that the transition continues “to press for a quick confirmation after Alejandro Mayorkas’ confirmation hearing on January 19” to be the next secretary of homeland security.