Aviation authorities established “national defense airspace” above Joe Biden’s home in Delaware as he took the lead in Pennsylvania and sat on the cusp of obtaining enough Electoral College votes to become the 46th president of the United States.
The designation was changed on Friday, two days after the Federal Aviation Administration posted the Temporary Flight Restriction, according to CNN. The airspace above the nearby Chase Center, the location where Biden’s stage for a potential victory speech is located, has also been restricted.
The updated designation came moments after Biden took the lead in Pennsylvania. His lead was about 5,500 votes, which was a dramatic swing from right before when the president was ahead by 18,000 votes. Mail-in and absentee ballots are still being counted.
After news of Biden taking the lead broke just before 9 a.m. EST, Decision Desk HQ, a nonpartisan election analysis firm, called the race in Pennsylvania, as well as the general election, for the former vice president. No major news outlet, however, immediately followed its lead.
Should Biden emerge victorious in Pennsylvania, he would win the election because the state has 20 Electoral College votes, pushing him over the 270 threshold. He would not need to win any of the remaining states, including Arizona (which has been called by some outlets but not all), Alaska, Nevada, Georgia, or North Carolina. Earlier in the morning, Biden inched ahead of Trump in Georgia, which has 16 electoral votes.
The Trump campaign released a statement that said the election “is not over,” alluding to recount requests and legal challenges.
Additional Secret Service officials were dispatched to Biden’s home on Thursday.
