With both President Donald Trump and President-Elect Joe Biden in Washington, security reached its zenith.
The massive security effort was reaching its final hours before the inauguration on Wednesday.
As Biden was on the ground in Washington, the final push was on to make sure all the planning for the next day and a half prevents any trouble. The soon-to-be president spoke in front of a Delaware National Guard facility named after his late son who was one of the Delaware troops.
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"So it's deeply personal that our next journey to Washington starts here, a place that defines the very best of who we are as Americans. I know these are dark times, but there's always light," Biden said.
Awaiting Biden are the walls and fences and checkpoints in place, and anyone that doesn’t have the authorization to be inside the areas near the White House Capitol or National Mall has been cleared out.
Coral Gables Assistant Police Chief Hajir Nuriddin was leading a a team of 27 officers who will be stationed inside the secure zone on Inauguration Day.
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“We are very excited. I believe it's well planned and well organized," Nuriddin said. "I believe it will be a safe environment for everyone from all the information we have available to us. So we look forward to it, we know members of our families and members of our community back home in the Gables are concerned for our safety but we feel very comfortable, safe here, and we are prepared for it."
There are 12 National Guard members who won’t be on duty Wednesday, after their background checks indicated problems and they were taken off their posts. There weren’t any connections found to extremist groups, and the Florida National Guard said none of their 600 members were on the removal list.
One other item that makes this a transition like no other, since President Trump won’t be here but h'’s still the Commander in Chief till noon Wednesday, are the nuclear codes that are in a briefcase that's nicknamed the football.
On Wednesday, there will be two of them, one will be with Trump when he lands at Palm Beach International and go over to his residence. The other will be at the Capitol with Biden. At noon one is turned off and the one near Biden gets turned on.
