Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
Lloyd AustinBiden promises to end the ‘scourge of sexual assault on the armed forces’ The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Johns Hopkins University – CDC announces long-awaited guidelines for fully vaccinated Americans Will Lloyd Austin face the generals? MOST approved the maintenance of nearly 2,300 National Guards at the US Capitol until May 23, the Pentagon said Tuesday night.
The move extends the deployment of Guarda more than two months ago, when it was due to end this week. The number of approved troops is about half of the 5,100 currently stationed on Capitol Hill.
“This decision was made after a thorough analysis of the request and after a careful analysis of its potential impact on readiness,” said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby in a statement.
During the extension, Pentagon officials “will work with the United States Capitol Police to gradually reduce the National Guard’s footprint as conditions permit,” added Kirby.
“We thank the National Guard for their support during this mission, as well as for their significant efforts across the country in combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
National guards from all over the country invaded Washington, DC, to strengthen security on Capitol Hill after the January 6 riot by supporters of the former President Trump
Donald Trump Trump swears ‘Enough of money for RINOS’ instead of encouraging donations to his PAC Federal judge considers ‘QAnon shaman’ too dangerous to be released from prison Pelosi says rioting on Capitol Hill was one of the most difficult times of his career. MOST, reaching a height of 26,000 soldiers.
The guards were originally designed to increase security for President biden
Joe BidenCNN: Bidens’ dogs removed from the White House Federal judge considers’ QAnon shaman ‘too dangerous to be released from prison Pelosi says the Capitol riot was one of the most difficult times of his career. MOSTinauguration, but then the deployment was extended to March 12 due to ongoing security concerns.
Security concerns were partly related to the mistaken belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory that Trump would be reopened on March 4, the original date for presidential inaugurations until 1933, when the 20th amendment changed to January 20.
March 4 arrived and passed without incident. But that same day, the Capitol Police asked the Pentagon to extend the deployment of the National Guard for another two months.
A brief statement by the Capitol Police last week, confirming that it requested the extension of the Guard deployment, did not detail what specific threats justified the US military presence on the Capitol.
Kirby also objected on Tuesday afternoon when asked about the threat assessment.
“The presence of the Guard at Morro, although it is certainly there to meet a requirement based on law enforcement concerns, is also there to help strengthen and support the Capitol Police and their capabilities, which may not be at the level where they should be given the fact that we are in a kind of new environment in this country, ”said Kirby at a Pentagon briefing. “So it’s not just a threat assessment. It is about assisting and supporting the capabilities that the Capitol Police may not have now and may need to seek to improve on their own. “
Although the extension announced on Tuesday ends in May, questions are beginning to arise as to whether the National Guard will have a longer-lasting presence on Capitol Hill after a security review recommended radical changes.
One of the recommendations of the review, authored by a team led by retired Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, was to create a permanent rapid reaction force to respond to emergencies in Washington, DC, which could be made up of members of the National Guard.
Asked on Tuesday whether the National Guard’s mission will become long-lasting, Kirby told reporters that “I don’t think anyone can answer that question right now.”
Lawmakers, however, are increasingly questioning whether the Guard is still needed on Capitol Hill, saying the Capitol Police need to inform them of the threats driving the extension.
Lawmakers’ calls to send troops home are concerned about the conditions that guards stationed on Capitol Hill faced.
In January, lawmakers were outraged after some guards were forced to rest in a parking lot instead of inside the Capitol complex. They were quickly taken back inside after photos of them crammed into the garage circulated online.
More recently, lawmakers on both sides expressed concern after Michigan National Guard members received food provided by a contractor that was “underdone, raw, moldy and even full of metal shavings”, as Michigan lawmakers wrote in a letter to the head of the National Guard Department last week.
Kirby said on Monday that the contractor would not be changed after the food vendor’s facilities were inspected several times “without any substantial problems having been registered”