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Many norms of America s rituals of presidential transition went by the wayside this past electoral season, of course. Among them, the detail of how a president-elect and his family arrive in Washington, D.C., on the day before Inauguration. Customarily, it is by government plane, sent by the outgoing administration to fetch the first-family-elect. Not so this year.
Team Biden s Plan A was arrival at Washington s Union Station from Wilmington, Delaware, by Amtrak, the path of Biden s daily commute during his 36 years in the Senate. (Wilmington s historic railroad station was renamed the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Station in his honor in 2011.) But the violence of the attempted January 6 insurrection at the Capitol raised too many security concerns for the train likely Biden s sentimental favorite to be a viable option. Next best thing? A private chartered BBJ.
Can You Charter the Plane that Flew Joe Biden to His Inauguration? Yes You Can. Klara Glowczewska
The norms of American transition of power took many well-known hits this past electoral season. There was no concession, no White House visit by the incoming president, no transition assistance, and no attendance by the outgoing president and his family at the Inauguration. In another break from protocol, the First Family-elect did not arrive in Washington, D.C., on the day before the Inaugural ceremonies on a government-provided plane. (Although Donald Trump was extended the courtesy of Air Force transport by the Obama administration in January 2017, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that no such conveyance was offered the Bidens.)