Blame game continues after National Guard inexplicably kicked out of US Capitol
Washington DC - There's quite a bit of finger-pointing going on in Washington DC during President Biden’s first few days in office, with the National Guard at the center of it all.
On January 21, members of the Washington DC National Guard were reportedly kicked out of the US Capitol grounds and sent to the Thurgood Marshall Judicial Center parking garage.
After the story broke, members of congress headed to Twitter to share their opinions on the event. But it was Senator Tammy Duckworth from Illinois who did more than just share her fury – she made calls and moves to right the wrongs that no one has yet to take responsibility for.
After Politico broke the news, Senator Duckworth posted it on Twitter with a comment saying, "Unreal. I can’t believe that the same brave service members we’ve been asking to protect our Capitol and our Constitution these last two weeks would be unceremoniously ordered to vacate the building. I am demanding answers ASAP. They can use my office.”
Shortly after, she shared another update, revealing that she’d made several calls, and was just made aware that the Capitol Police apologized to the guardsmen, who were let back into the Capitol that night.
Though the troops have been moved back into the U.S. Capitol, one question remains unanswered: why were the troops reportedly evicted, nonetheless from a building they were sent to protect?
The No-Blame Game
While anonymous guardsmen told Politico it was Capitol Police that forced them to leave the building, the interim Capitol Police Chief, Yogananda Pittman, adamantly denied this claim in a statement made Friday.
She insisted: "I want to assure everyone that, with the exception of specific times on Inauguration Day itself while the swearing-in ceremonies were underway, the United States Capitol Police did not instruct the National Guard to vacate the Capitol Building facilities."
The National Guard Bureau saw things differently, with spokesman Major Matt Murphy telling CBS News that, "As Congress is in session and increased foot traffic and business is being conducted, Capitol Police asked the troops to move their rest area."
Still, without any responsibility taken, the National Guard and Capitol Police released a joint statement, saying they had established appropriate rest areas for the troops in the US Capitol grounds while the remaining guardsmen wait to be sent home. Capitol Police said they’re going to open an investigation into what really happened, but as with many things in the US government, it’s hard to know if those words will actually turn into action.
Of the 25,000 troops that were deployed, 10,600 remain in DC and 7,000 will likely stay past the end of January due to the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump, set to begin February 8.
President Joe Biden personally called General Daniel Hokanson to express his deepest apologies for the parking garage fiasco and to see if there was anything he could do to make it right, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Cover photo: imago images / ZUMA Wire