Stenger and weapons sergeant Paul Irving are under pressure to resign after the deadly and embarrassing breach of security.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the final blame rested on the “unbalanced criminals” who desecrated the Capitol, but he nonetheless suggested that Congress would have to deal with “shocking flaws in US security postures and protocols. Capitol”.
McConnell’s office has yet to comment on Stenger.
Chamber and Senate arms sergeants are at the most immediate hurdle, according to several sources from both parties. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund will also face intense scrutiny. And the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden may see changes.
“The Capitol Police will and should really do a quick review here of what went wrong and what they need to do to make sure that nothing like this can happen again,” said Senate rules president Roy Blunt (R-Mo .) To reporters on Thursday. “You really want to take another look at what your crowd safety concerns would be on January 20th.”
Eva Malecki, a spokesman for the Capitol police, said: “The chief has no plans to resign.
The move with Stenger may come before the power shift on January 20, according to sources. Irving, the House’s arms sergeant since 2012, is also under intense scrutiny and should be pressured to resign after the rebellion and violence that took place inside the Capitol on Wednesday.
McConnell and spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi did not immediately comment. Sund issued a statement saying the Capitol Police had a “robust plan” for protesters, “but make no mistake – these disturbances were not First Amendment activities.”
The frustration was evident when the senators met in a secure room in the Capitol complex on Wednesday. Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) briefly, but intentionally, disguised the weapons sergeant team about the unprecedented security breach on Capitol Hill, according to two sources familiar with the conversation.
Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), the House Democrat who oversees the funding of the Capitol police, told reporters there would be a quick fallout from the deadly security breach.
Ryan praised the Capitol police for doing “everything they could” to contain the crowd, but said senior officials would be punished and likely to be fired. At least 15 police officers were hospitalized due to chaos with one in critical condition, according to Ryan.
“In order not to have a quick plan – the violation happened 1 hour and 15 minutes after the Capitol police managed to contain the crowd,” Ryan told reporters on Thursday. “You can be sure that someone will be held responsible for this.”
And Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ryan’s Senate counterpart, said “we need a thorough investigation into how Capitol security has been breached so quickly”.
“To be outnumbered, ill-equipped and unprepared is not the fault of the officers, but the responsibility of their superiors,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Who was among those present in the chamber while protesters violated the Capitol. via text message on Thursday morning. “Yesterday’s security breach was preventable, inexcusable and requires a thorough investigation and removal of those responsible from their positions.”
The House floor was swarming with immediate layoffs on Wednesday night, while lawmakers met to restart certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Lawmakers did not come together around a specific plan, but generally agreed that there needed to be rapid leadership changes both in the Capitol Police, including Sund, and in the Sergeant at Arms offices, according to several sources familiar with the talks. .
Ryan and House Appropriations President Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), On Thursday, announced an investigation into the Capitol Police failures that led to the mafia government on Wednesday.
Protesters stormed the Capitol, smashing glass windows and knocking down doors, invading some of the most secure areas of the Capitol, including the Senate chamber and Pelosi’s office. Ryan said he was bothered by videos on Wednesday that appeared to show Capitol Police opening barriers to allow protesters to enter Capitol grounds and then leave Capitol Hill after destroying it. A woman was shot and killed inside the compound during the chaos.
The arms sergeant has more than 800 employees who oversee the security of the Capitol, Congressional office buildings and officials, while the Capitol Police has 2,300 employees and officers.
During other times like the impeachment of Trump or the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court, the presence of security and police inside the building was pronounced, but sometimes on Thursday there were empty corridors delivered to the protesters. And only after the invaders were expelled from the Capitol did the number of officers reach overwhelming levels.
“It was mind boggling,” Senator Shelley Moore Capito (RW.Va.) told MetroNews in West Virginia on Thursday. “I think it was the worst day.”
Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.