President-elect Joe Biden is landing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland ahead of his inauguration tomorrow in the nation’s capital.
Biden flew today on a private aircraft, yet another change in protocol on the eve of his inauguration.
A person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that Biden was not taking a US government plane to Joint Base Andrews for the first stop of his inauguration festivities.
A second source familiar with the matter said the government did not offer the Bidens a plane, but did not have details.
A White House official, meanwhile, said the Biden team did not ask for a government plane to bring Biden to DC. The official said the administration explained to the Biden team what the options were. But aides to Biden explained they preferred to fly on private aircraft, the official added.
Where Biden goes later: Biden will participate in a memorial this afternoon honoring the more than 400,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19, with 400 lights illuminating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Hundreds of towns, cities and communities across the country plan to join in the solemn tribute with lighting ceremonies of their own at buildings from the Empire State Building in New York City to the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.
Biden will be joined by his wife Jill Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, will deliver the invocation and gospel singer Yolanda Adams will perform “Hallelujah.”
Biden had hoped to infuse his arrival in Washington, DC, with a nostalgic twist by riding a train from his home in Delaware, but that was deemed too much of a security risk at a time when the nation is facing threats from within.
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