Intense security blankets Washington for Biden Inauguration
VP-Elect Harris poised to resign her U.S. Senate seat
Unprecedented security across Washington, D.C. before the Biden inaugural. Some GOP Senators keep Trump guessing on his Senate impeachment trial. And Sen. Kamala Harris is ready to resign. This is “Regular Order” for January 18, 2021.
CITY UNDER SIEGE. The attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters has drastically changed the Biden Inauguration. Large areas of D.C. are fenced off and shut down. Dozens of intersections are blocked. Major roads are closed. "Access to the Capitol Complex is extremely difficult," staffers were told. Instead of inaugural balls and parties, there is talk of IED's, terror strikes, and even insider attacks.
ARMED MAN ARRESTED. Minutes after a former radio colleague asked me if security threats were overblown, news arrived Sunday that an armed man had been arrested several blocks from the Capitol. The suspect was carrying a loaded handgun, and had several high capacity ammunition magazines as well.
SHOW OF FORCE. My check of security on Sunday around the nation’s capital showed an array of precautions. New fencing around the Vice President’s home. Streets closed several blocks from the White House. National Guard troop carriers. Army jeeps. Heavily armed soldiers are a common sight. You can’t get anywhere close to the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorial, let alone the Capitol.
NOT NORMAL. I've been surprised by social media messages from people outside of Washington who think all is normal in D.C. this week. It is not. There will not be hundreds of thousands of people here for the Biden Inauguration. No parade. The National Mall is closed. The Mayor of Washington says simply, stay home.
DOWN AT THE CAPITOL. On Capitol Hill, the situation is much the same. Taller fencing was going up by the Supreme Court on Sunday. Military checkpoints were stopping vehicles on Capitol Hill streets for ID. And the U.S. Capitol grounds are still brimming with National Guard troops.
IMPEACHMENT SWORD OF DAMOCLES. If there’s one thing being held over the head of President Trump right now by some Republicans, it's his political future. A conviction in a Senate impeachment trial could then lead to a ban on holding federal office in the future. "I think that is one of the most consequential actions that we could take, and I think that would be appropriate," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said.
DISMISS THE CHARGE. While Murkowski might be open to a Trump trial, other Republicans want no part of it. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argues the Senate should toss it out, and move on. "We will be delaying indefinitely, if not forever, the healing of this great Nation if we do otherwise," Graham wrote.
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. It’s not yet clear when the Senate trial will begin for President Trump. Speaker Nancy Pelosi must still send the single impeachment charge to the Senate. It’s safe to assume most of the action will take place after Mr. Trump has left office, and after Senate Democrats take charge.
HARRIS TO RESIGN. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is expected to submit her resignation on Monday, two days before being sworn in as Vice President. That paves the way for the appointment of California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to replace Harris in the Senate. “January 20, 2021 will mark a new chance to heal, rebuild, and strengthen our democracy we all cherish,” Harris said on Sunday.
THE WHOLE NUMBER IS 432. The U.S. House has another vacancy, as Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) resigned his seat on Friday, to take a job in the Biden White House. Three House seats are currently open, two of them in Louisiana. The third seat - NY22 - is still in a post-election legal battle over the final results.
ATTACK ARRESTS. More examples rolled in on Sunday of people who were in arrested in part because of what they put on social media. Daniel Adams had all sorts of photos on Facebook. One guy was tracked by his GPS probation monitor. And Edward Jacob Lang helped police figure out he was at the front of the crowd attacking police at a U.S. Capitol entrance. “THIS IS ME” he put on one photo.
ATTACK LEGISLATION. While members of the D.C. police who came to help at the Capitol during the January 6 attack had body cameras, the Capitol Police do not. And so, a group of House Democrats has unveiled a bill to change that, H.R. 284.
WHAT'S IN A TITLE? A small group of House Republicans led by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced H.R. 275, to 'establish the National Commission on the Domestic Terrorist Attack Upon the United States Capitol.'
WHAT'S IN A TITLE? PART 2. Over two dozen Democrats have introduced H.R. 276, to 'establish a national commission to investigate the seditious attack on the United States Capitol and Congress on January 6, 2021, address the systemic failures in the United States Capitol security and intelligence apparatus to accurately assess outside threats, and study and propose recommendations to realign the mission of the United States Capitol Police.'
MUSE OF HISTORY. On this holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we should remember there were loud opponents in Congress to the idea. In a 1983 debate, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) denounced King in a floor speech riddled with words like Marxist, radical, and Communist. When Helms finished, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) directly rebuked the North Carolina GOP Senator, saying his arguments echoed the "arch-segregationists bent on retaining the rule of racism."
UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
House meets Tuesday at 1 pm.
Senate meets Tuesday at 12 noon.
President Trump is in Washington.
President-Elect Biden will be sworn in Wednesday at 12 noon.
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