Biden, Trump teams discuss inauguration security after New Orleans attack

Washington: The White House on Friday said it was working closely with US President-elect Donald Trump's transition team to guard against any possible attacks aimed at the Jan. 20 inauguration.

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he has spoken to families of the victims of the New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and left dozens more injured.

Biden's national security spokesman John Kirby said the White House was also keeping Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, apprised about investigations into the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans, in which a US Army veteran drove a truck into a group of revelers, killing at least 14 people, and a separate vehicle explosion in Las Vegas, also involving a US Army soldier.

US law enforcement and intelligence agencies raised concerns about copycat vehicle-ramming attacks following the attack in an intelligence bulletin published Friday.

Kirby said law enforcement and intelligence officials were watching the situation "very, very closely" and security at the upcoming inauguration remained a priority for all.

The bulletin was issued a day after the FBI said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas native, was "100 percent inspired" by the Islamic State militant group to drive a truck into a crowd in New Orleans. Jabbar, who flew an Islamic State flag from the rear of the truck he had rented, was killed in a shootout with police.

"The security of the inauguration and of people attending it remain a high priority for all of us in the executive branch," Kirby said. "We're working assiduously ever single day to ensure the safety and security of the inauguration from any kind of attack."

The presidential inauguration is held outside the U.S. Capitol, and followed by a parade to the White House by the new president and a series of inaugural balls around Washington. The district's blend of city and federal land means that multiple law enforcement bodies from the National Parks Service to the Capitol Police are involved in security.

Trump's team was slow to start the usual transition process between presidencies but agreed in early December to begin the background checks needed for access to classified information.

Marco Rubio, Trump's nominee for secretary of state, and Waltz, his designated national security adviser, already have security clearances as members of Congress who served on key intelligence committees, and can therefore be fully briefed by the current administration, according to a source familiar with the situation.

His incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles also has a security clearance and can be briefed, the source said.

It was not immediately clear how many other Trump transition officials had received these clearances to be able to receive intelligence briefings and other sensitive data.

Kirby declined to comment on the issue.