AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The National Guard’s presence in Washington, D.C., got extended last week when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved the Capitol Police’s request for 2,300 troops to remain in place for approximately two months. Americans heard about threats from QAnon devotees on Inauguration Day, during the impeachment trial, and on March 4th. Exactly nothing happened. Perhaps this is why not everyone agrees with the extension for the National Guard:
National Guard Bureau Chief Dan Hokanson had questioned the extension because it was not rooted in specific threats. Instead, it was to give Capitol Police more time to fill staff and training gaps. In a memo obtained by Fox News, Hokanson wrote on March 4:
March 13, 2021 Share
More than 1,000 National Guard members will be leaving Washington, D.C. over the next few days, but several thousand others will stay on for days or weeks, in the ongoing mission to provide security for the U.S. Capitol that has drawn criticism from lawmakers and reluctance from the military.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier this week approved the Capitol Police request to extend the deployment of nearly 2,300 Guard members for about two more months because possible threats of violence remain.
According to the National Guard, troops from some states will stay in Washington for the entire two months. Others will return home but will be replaced by service members from the same state. But some states, such as Michigan, will no longer participate in the mission.
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More than 1,000 Guard troops now leaving DC; others stay on
Lolita C. Baldor
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National Guard stand their posts around the Capitol at sunrise in Washington, Monday, March 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
WASHINGTON – More than 1,000 National Guard members will be leaving Washington, D.C. over the next few days, but several thousand others will stay on for days or weeks, in the ongoing mission to provide security for the U.S. Capitol that has drawn criticism from lawmakers and reluctance from the military.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier this week approved the Capitol Police request to extend the deployment of nearly 2,300 Guard members for about two more months because possible threats of violence remain.