Biden's Inauguration Rehearsal Postponed due to Security Threats

A rehearsal for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, scheduled for Sunday was postponed over security concerns, as US airlines are tightening restrictions.

Two people with knowledge of the decision confirmed the news, adding that the rehearsal is now planned for Monday.

Biden's team has also cancelled an Amtrak trip from Wilmington to Washington, planned for Monday due to heightened security concerns, the report affirmed.

Nonetheless, the presidential inaugural committee declined to comment on these changes, and the Secret Service and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies did not respond to requests for comment.

Biden’s team has brought on Lisa Monaco, a former Homeland Security adviser in the Obama administration whom Biden nominated to serve as deputy attorney general, to serve as a temporary adviser on security around the inauguration.

Monaco has paused her activities related to the nomination as she works with the transition on security matters.

“Ms. Monaco 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,” a spokesperson for the transition said in a statement. “Given the existing threats, Ms. Monaco’s temporary role will be focused solely on the period leading up to the inauguration.”

The President-elect received a briefing on Wednesday about the threats from the FBI, the Secret Service and national security officials.

“In the week since the attack on Congress by a mob that included domestic terrorists and violent extremists,” the transition team stated. “The nation has continued to learn more about the threat to our democracy and about the potential for additional violence in the coming days, both in the National Capital Region and in cities across the country. This is a challenge that the President-elect and his team take incredibly seriously.”

Reuters has quoted two U.S. officials saying that some of the 10,000 National Guard troops due to be deployed into Washington D.C to help secure the area ahead of the inauguration will be armed.