#It’s not uncommon for the presidential detail to change agents who are familiar with the new president, the source said, but these moves, which have been in place for several weeks, come at a time of considerable political tension as #President #Donald #Trump continues to falsely claim that his second term is being stolen while #Biden prepares to take office.
The staffing changes, first reported by The #Washington #Post, also come amid concern from #Biden allies about the political loyalty of some current agents to #Trump, two people familiar with the situation told the newspaper. #Some presidential detail members even encouraged other agents not to wear face masks this year, the #Post reported, out of loyalty to the #President, who didn’t like the way they looked.
A former #Secret #Service executive told the #Post the staffing changes were a “smart” decision in order to “give the incoming president the comfort of the familiar.”
“#You want him to be with people he knows and trusts, and who also know how he operates,” the person said.
#Secret #Service spokeswoman #Catherine #Milhoan told the newspaper the agency “is uniquely authorized to provide protection to designated U.S. and other world leaders and remains steadfastly dedicated to a standard of excellence in those operations, wholly apolitically and unaffiliated with the political parties of protectees.”
“#As a matter of practice and due to operational security, the agency does not comment on protective operations inclusive of internal decisions on agency assignments,” she added.
The #White #House and the #Biden transition declined to comment to the #Post.
#Biden took the first step to formally request #Secret #Service protection after protesters stormed the stage at one of his rallies.
#He was just minutes into a speech when two women rushed toward the podium where he was celebrating his #Super #Tuesday wins. The first woman was grabbed by #Biden’s private security guard and led offstage.
#Seconds later, the second woman climbed onto the stage and #Jill #Biden put herself between the protester and her husband. #Symone #Sanders, a senior campaign adviser at the time, charged onto the platform and hauled the protester off the stage.
#In an interview with NBC #News at the time, #Biden said “it’s becoming increasingly” clear that protection would be necessary.
“I think that that’s something that has to be considered the more outrageous it becomes,” he said.
#He received protection in #March, CNN reported. #Former vice presidents receive protection for six months after they leave office, which means #Biden’s #Secret #Service protection ended had ended in mid-2017. #Before that, he consistently had private security nearby, and larger venues for campaign rallies often had local police or private security on hand as well.
#In early #November — after the election but ahead of his projected victory — the #Secret #Service sent more agents to #Wilmington, #Delaware, in anticipation of his presidential win.
[ source link ]
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/30/politics/joe-biden-secret-service/index.html
##Secret ##Service #adding ##Biden #agents #presidential #detail
