Washington (CNN) A series of security threats closed portions of the White House and Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

In the middle of White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest's daily briefing, officials told all reporters to evacuate the briefing room. The North Lawn of the White House was also cleared.

The Secret Service said a bomb threat had been called in at 1:53 p.m. to the DC Metropolitan Police Department targeting the briefing room specifically. The evacuation at the White House came just hours after U.S. Capitol Police received a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of a hearing on the TSA in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Secret Service officers covered up the press cameras in the briefing room during the evacuation to protect methods and practices used by the agency to investigate bomb threats, a U.S. official said early Tuesday evening.

Secret Service officials said they couldn't discuss any potential connection between the White House and Capitol Hill threats.

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