Heavy security, a divided nation to mark Biden’s inauguration day
Two days before he takes oath of office, incoming US leader calls for nationwide healing and unity
WASHINGTON: Central Washington is an armed fortress, fenced off with razor wire and surrounded by 25,000 National Guard troops ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, a stark contrast to previous inaugurations, when the United States capital erupted in days of celebration.
Outgoing President Donald Trump doesn’t plan to invite the Bidens to the White House before the inauguration -- denying them the customary gesture of goodwill the Obama family afforded him four years ago. Trump will also become the first president since Andrew Johnson to skip his successor’s swearing in -- he’ll instead leave Washington
Wednesday morning for Florida, where he plans to reside.
Roughly 25,000 National Guard soldiers have been deployed across Washington after Trump supporters, incited by the President to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s election victory, stormed the US Capitol in a violent riot on January 6 that left five dead. Tall fencing now surrounds the Capitol building and the White House.
Even before the insurrection, the raging coronavirus pandemic -- which has killed nearly 400,000 in the US -- had already forestalled the possibility of large-scale gatherings or public festivities for Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s inauguration.
“Sometimes ‘unprecedented’ is a fair word to use, certainly in a moment defined by crises in an extreme way,” said Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University. “It’s the pandemic and then a post 9-11 moment combined. That’s why the moment is so grim.”
Within his first week in office, Biden is expected to ask Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus and issue scores of executive orders to both reverse Trump policies and advance his own, including one that would require Americans to wear masks on federal property and in the course of interstate commerce.
WASHINGTON: On the cusp of becoming US president, Joe Biden pressed on Monday for unity, while outgoing President Donald Trump remained secluded in the White House at the centre of a capital inundated with troops and security barriers.
Biden marked the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday with a trip from his home in Delaware to pack food bags for charity in Philadelphia - a gesture symbolising his call for Americans to come together after four divisive years. “Service is a fitting way to start to heal, unite, and rebuild this country we love,” Biden said in a video marking the occasion.
But the 78-year-old Democrat’s fervent appeals for optimism and healing - which are also set to dominate his inauguration ceremony at noon on Wednesday - are running up against the hard reality of multiple crises.
Covid-19 is out of control, vaccine distribution is stumbling, and economic recovery remains in the balance.
America’s rocky transition of power was underlined on Monday when Biden’s spokeswoman quickly dismissed Trump’s announcement that a Covid-19 ban on travellers arriving from much of Europe and Brazil would be lifted later this month.
Trump had refused for more than two months to accept the results of November’s presidential election, and the country is seething with division and anger.
When Biden takes the oath of office at noon on Wednesday, he will face a city under the protection of more than 20,000 National Guard soldiers.
Checkpoints and large zones closed to ordinary citizens mean there will be only a smattering of guests. Similar lockdowns have been imposed at state capitol buildings around the country where authorities fear provocations from right-wing groups ahead of the inauguration.
The acting defence secretary said that the military and FBI was vetting the National Guard troopers, who carry automatic weapons, in case any of them posed a threat.
“While we have no intelligence indicating an insider threat, we are leaving no stone unturned in securing the capital,” the official, Christopher Miller, said.
In a culturally significant mark, the legendary country singer Garth Brooks said that he was joining the musical line up at Biden’s ceremony, stressing this was “not a political statement, this is a statement of unity.”
Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez are already set to perform.
Biden to unveil sweeping immigration bill
Biden plans to unveil an immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the US without legal status. The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities.
It provides a fast pathway to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favoured by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.