By Syndicated Content
By David Shepardson and Jan Wolfe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) â The man who led the Pentagon during former President Donald Trumpâs supportersâ deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol is expected to defend his decisions at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, saying that sending in troops would have created the appearance of a âmilitary coup.â
Former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller plans to say that the military was deliberately restrained on the day of Trumpâs Jan. 6 rally, that turned into an assault by hundreds of his followers that left five dead including a police officer, according to a copy of his prepared remarks seen by Reuters.
Former acting defense chief to testify on Pentagon’s response to Jan. 6 Capitol riot May 9 In this Nov. 17, 2020, image taken from a video, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller speaks at the Pentagon in Washington. (Defense.gov via AP) WASHINGTON Former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller is scheduled to testify next week about the Pentagon’s role in responding to the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, the latest in a series of high-profile congressional hearings centered on the insurrection. Miller is expected to appear Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee alongside former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and District of Columbia Police Chief Robert Contee III in a hearing titled, “The Capitol Insurrection: Unexplained Delays and Unanswered Questions.”
Dumfries-based Young Marines board member sworn in as U.S. House sergeant-at-arms Walker
Major General William J. Walker, a member of the Advisory Council to the Board of Directors of the Young Marines, based in Dumfries, has been sworn in as the sergeant-at-arms for the United States House of Representatives.
Formerly, Major General Walker was the commander of Washington, D.C. National Guard. He is the 38th person and first Black American to serve as sergeant-at-arms.
Press release:
“We offer our heartiest congratulations to our friend, colleague and former Vice Chairman of the Young Marines,” said Bill Smith, chairman of the Young Marines’ Board of Directors. “His lifetime of achievement and service to the nation makes him very deserving of this prestigious position.”
First Black House sergeant-at-arms William Walker sworn in
“His historic appointment as the first Black American to serve as Sergeant-at-Arms is an important step forward for this institution and our nation, said Nancy Pelosi in a statement.
Speaker
Nancy Pelosi issued the oath of office to Walker during a House pro forma session. He will escort President
Joe Biden down the House chamber’s center aisle as the president prepares to address Congress for the first time since he took office.
“Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you are about to enter, so help you God?” recited Pelosi, congratulating Walker as he answered “yes.”