Inauguration planners reassessing security after Capitol siege

President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural planning team was already challenged with the unprecedented task of hosting a swearing-in ceremony amid a global pandemic and violent unrest fanned by Donald Trump. Then came the “unprecedented assault on our democracy,” as Biden put it Thursday.

Wednesday’s violent melee at the U.S. Capitol is prompting a reassessment of plans for Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Biden's inauguration team held a leadership call Thursday to discuss safety issues. But neither inauguration officials nor others in government are suggesting they need to overhaul the event, altogether.

A spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies said they are organizing with institutional partners on a “thorough assessment of the inaugural platform,” and the other Capitol spaces and grounds traditionally used for inaugural ceremonies.

They declined to comment on specifics until that assessment is finished.

“The great American tradition of an inaugural ceremony has occurred in times of peace, in times of turmoil, in times of prosperity, and in times of adversity,” Sens Roy Blunt and Amy Klobuchar, of the committee, said in reaffirming their commitment to the ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol.

Transition officials and Democrats close to the president, meanwhile, stressed that maintaining public safety and keeping angry mobs at bay was their highest priority as they fielded questions from anxious supporters. Biden himself told reporters on Wednesday he was confident inauguration events would be safe and secure.

“The American people are going to stand up. Enough is enough is enough,” he said after brief remarks Wednesday.

In interviews, law enforcement experts sought to draw a sharp contrast between Inauguration Day and this week’s disturbance, where a mob of violent Trump supporters breached the Capitol building and sent lawmakers scrambling for safety.

“There’s so much more specificity put into these events that I do think they’re going to be buttoned up pretty tight,” a former U.S. Secret Service veteran with knowledge of the planning said of the upcoming inauguration. “There will be barriers in place you didn’t have yesterday. And I think instead of having just the Capitol Police there to protect the Capitol [to start], you’re going to have thousands of other law enforcement that are going to be standing elbow to elbow.”

A senior Biden inaugural official echoed that, noting that their security partners who started preparing for the inauguration ceremonies months ago.

Indeed, federal agencies have spent more than a year planning for what is designated as a National Special Security Event involving the United States Secret Service, FEMA, Department of Defense, intelligence agencies and other departments that establish security perimeters and coordinate on terrorist threats and crisis management. Such events typically include a multi-agency coordinating center with scores of officials representing the departments to manage coordination and communication, law enforcement experts said.

Some recalled Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural, the first for a new president in the post-9/11 era, where officers planned for well over 1 million visitors. To prepare for the massive crowds, federal and police officials studied what damage could be done from miles away from the Capitol — including the types of weapons that could be used — and deployed considerable intelligence over nearly a year on the effort.

“We are continuing to work with them to ensure the utmost safety and security of the President-elect, Vice President-elect, participants, and the public during this historic event,” the Biden inauguration official said in a statement, adding that it was a chance for Americans and the world to witness a peaceful transition of power.

“This will mark a new day for the American people focused on healing our nation, bringing our country together, and building back better.”

Nevertheless, the sheer chaos and lack of control of Wednesday’s events, which stretched over hours before police and military finally cleared the Capitol, was impossible to overlook.

In the hours after the chaos unfolded, some Biden aides and allies were privately expressing concern about how to ensure similar threats don’t disturb inauguration. Their concerns were echoed by Democrats across the country, who pointed to Trump organizer invitations on social media urging their allies to stay in town or return to Washington armed — and in large numbers — later this month.

“You can imagine the inauguration will have Fort Knox-level security, with just the people who need to be there,” a source close to Biden told POLITICO after the mobs stormed the Capitol.

Some changes are already visible: Military personnel have erected a seven-foot-tall fence around the Capitol. The “nonscalable” fence will remain up for a month. And D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a public emergency order through January 21, a day after the inauguration, that allow her to take various safety measures.

Even before the attempted takeover, inauguration attendance was significantly scaled back, with congressional members allowed to bring just one guest rather than the “ticket bundles” members used to receive from the 200,000 tickets organizers distributed for past ceremonies.

Inauguration organizers and transition officials are hopeful that Republicans can help douse the flames Trump has fanned, and some said they were seeing encouraging signs in Wednesday’s aftermath, including Republicans who withdrew their objections to certifying Biden’s election victory.

Several top Republicans have also pledged to attend the inauguration, with more expected. On Thursday, an aide to House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who sits on the congressional committee for the inauguration, said he anticipates attending. Vice President Mike Pence is also expected to show up after overseeing the chaotic certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory. Former President George W. Bush and his wife said this week they would be in Washington for the ceremony.

Paige Waltz, the spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee, said the president and vice president are never formally invited to the inaugural ceremonies.

“We have not been told by the president or vice president whether they will be there,” Waltz said.

Invitations and attendance logistics for the outgoing leaders are traditionally done at the staff level — and it’s historically not a question whether they would attend. This time, with the election results being contested, Joint Congressional Committee staff planned to reach out and start coordination once certification was complete, which happened Thursday.

Alice Miranda Ollstein contributed to this report.