Biden's Inauguration Week begins as DC security intensifies

CNN has obtained a copy of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ resignation letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, from a Harris aide.

Harris officially submitted her resignation letter this morning as she prepares to take office Wednesday. Harris will make make history as the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president of the US.

Read the letter:

Once a fortress, security in and around Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue will begin to loosen, possibly as early as this week. 

According to a New York Police Department official, police presence will be scaled down once Trump leaves office Jan. 20.  

Streets around the high rise that have been blocked since Trump became President will likely be reopened and barricades are expected to be removed, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity as plans are still being coordinated with the US Secret Service, and other federal authorities.  

A communications center inside Trump Tower will no longer be needed and dismantled, the official added.

Trump Tower has had an increased security presence since Trump won the Republican presidential nomination in the summer of 2016 as it served as the President’s main office and residence, the official said. 

Since the November 2020 election, it’s been the target of protests including in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, with Black Lives Matter activists and Trump supporters alike. 

When asked about changes in security, NYPD spokesperson Detective Denise Moroney said that they will continue to have a "robust presence" at Trump-affiliated locations, including Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. After the inauguration, the department will reevaluate its security presence, she said.

In a sign of the level of alert around the Capitol building ahead of the Wednesday's inauguration, US Capitol Police have told people inside to stay inside, away from windows and to not leave due to an exterior security threat. 

The alert at the Capitol appears to be related to an incident that occurred near the Capitol building.

DC Fire's Vito Maggiolo says the incident involved a small fire involving tent that is now out.

DC fire was dispatched at 10:14 a.m. ET and the fire was put out a few minutes ago. He said the response was "very minimal" and it was "pretty much a non-incident."

CNN is told that they are evacuating the West front of the Capitol and the 1st floor crypt.

"I just tried to leave Longworth after getting my Covid test, only to be told that the building is now on lockdown. Apparently some external threat. Propane tanks under some bridge. Stuck in my office," a Democratic congressman told CNN. 

DC Fire and EMS tweeted moments ago about the incident, saying there have been no injuries related to the fire.

CNN's Manu Raju reports:

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has formally submitted her letter of resignation to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, per a Harris aide.

On Sunday, CNN reported that she was set to do so.

In an op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle today, Harris wrote, “Thus, as I leave the United States Senate, this is not goodbye. This is hello,” a nod to her changing position in the Senate as president of the chamber.

“As I resign from the Senate, I am preparing to take an oath that would have me preside over it.”

“As senator-turned-Vice-President Walter Mondale once pointed out, the vice presidency is the only office in our government that 'belongs to both the executive branch and the legislative branch.' A responsibility made greater with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate,” she wrote.

Harris continues to write in that op-ed, that while she will use her power as tiebreaker in the Senate, she hopes to not have to.

“Since our nation’s founding, only 268 tie-breaking votes have been cast by a Vice President. I intend to work tirelessly as your Vice President, including, if necessary, fulfilling this Constitutional duty,” she wrote.

“At the same time, it is my hope that rather than come to the point of a tie, the Senate will instead find common ground and do the work of the American people.”

Nicola Moncada was arrested Monday in connection with his alleged participation in the US Capitol riots, according to the New York field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities said "Moncada is now in custody for his role in assaulting the US Capitol while our representatives were inside performing their Constitutional duties."

"For those still thinking of employing violence to interfere with our Nation’s laws and institutions, our message is simple – don’t do it," Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a tweeted statement. 

"Making the wrong decision will last a lifetime," he added.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ alma maters, University of Delaware and Howard University, will be represented at the inauguration Wednesday with both schools’ drumlines scheduled to perform live from Washington, according to a press release.

They will escort Biden and Harris from 15th St. to the White House and help kick off the “Parade Across America” with live performances.

According to the release, the parade will begin at 3:15 p.m. ET and feature "diverse, dynamic performances in communities in all 56 states and territories, celebrate America’s heroes, and highlight the diversity, heritage, and resilience of the country."

President-elect Joe Biden plans to sign roughly a dozen executive orders, including rejoining the Paris climate accord and ending the travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries, on his first day in office, according to a memo from incoming chief of staff Ron Klain.

He'll also sign orders halting evictions and student loan payments during the coronavirus pandemic and issuing a mask mandate on all federal property in an effort to either roll back moves made by the Trump administration or advance policy in a way that was impossible in the current administration.

One of Biden's most common campaign trail promises was to tackle an issue on his first day in office — a pledge he usually made to either contrast himself with President Donald Trump or highlight just how important he believed an issue to be.

These promises were made on everything from climate change to immigration to foreign policy, and many are reflected in Klain's Saturday memo, which was first reported by the New York Times.

Beyond executive actions in his first days in office, the memo outlines that Biden plans to send Congress a large-scale immigration plan within his first 100 days in office. The plan would offer a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrations currently in the United States.

Biden rolled out his first legislative priority this week, announcing a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that included direct payments to Americans. Biden made clear during a speech on the plan that he wanted it to be the first issue Congress takes up after he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

CNN's Jessica Dean reports:

Washington, DC, reports that between the Metropolitan Police Department and the federal agencies helping to patrol the inauguration, there have been seven arrests since Friday.

Two were made by the Metro police and five by the federal agencies. CNN has reported on several of these cases individually.

The city also responded to three different reports of suspicious packages. All three were eventually cleared.

There was also a case of a National Guardsman falling ill, according to the report.

The city remains on high alert with check points and closures across a wide-ranging area two days ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

Melania Trump will be exiting the White House with the lowest favorability rating of her tenure as first lady, according to a new CNN poll.

At 47%, more people have an unfavorable view of the first lady now than at any point since CNN first asked about views of her in February 2016. The poll, conducted by SSRS for CNN, puts Trump's favorable rating at 42%, with 12% of those asked answering they are unsure of their feelings about the first lady.

Before her departure, which will see a break from tradition by her and her husband refusing to meet with the incoming President, she has written an essay on the restoration projects she oversaw while first lady.

She makes note of the Queen’s Bathroom renovation, the “President’s Elevator,” the marble flooring on the State Floor entry and outside of the East Room, and the Bowling Alley (where she had the balls redone with lettering “The President’s House,” not “The People’s House.”) She notes ongoing restoration of “priceless Zuber wallpaper in the Family Dining Room,” not yet completed.

Trump also comments on the Rose Garden renovation. 

Finally, she acknowledges the build of the now infamous White House Tennis Pavilion, a multimillion dollar, privately funded project she tweeted about more than once during the throes of the pandemic. With the exception of the new grout in the tiles on the State Floor marble, and the Rose Garden, the other projects she mentions in the essay all areas of the White House that are not accessible to the public and can only be used by the first family.