House and Senate Democratic leaders were not involved in a decision to move National Guard troops into a parking garage. Instead, the move happened as a result of “a breakdown in communication” between the Guard and the Capitol Police, those familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
“The guardsmen were moved over to the garage by a Capitol Police officer, and it didn’t go through the chain of command for either the Capitol Police or the National Guard,” a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
Republicans were quick to blame the debacle on top Democrats, who control both chambers of Congress.
“Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Majority Leader [Chuck] Schumer — why are American troops who are tasked with keeping security at the Capitol being forced to sleep in a parking lot?” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, tweeted on Thursday. “They deserve to be treated with respect, and we deserve answers.”
But Pelosi, a California Democrat, had nothing to do with the decision made on the Senate side of the Capitol, where 3,500 National Guard troops were asked to move from a Senate office building into the nearby Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building garage. Schumer said he was also unaware and called the troop shuffle “outrageous.”
It was a police officer, working in conjunction with a judicial center facility manager, who offered the heated garage to the troops in order to clear more space in the office building.
“The facilities manager, who is former military, reached out to the National Guard to offer the space,” the source told the Washington Examiner. “Leadership wasn’t involved in offering the space.”
Schumer denounced moving the troops, who have since been relocated to the Capitol Visitor Center for their breaks.
Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, who is the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said a police officer made the decision to move the troops and that lawmakers are working to determine his or her identity, which Inhofe said would be made public.
Top House and Senate leaders are currently discussing how long the National Guard will remain in the Capitol complex. Troop numbers are expected to shrink to about 7,000 by the end of the month.
About 25,000 National Guard troops were summoned following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters to add additional security for the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Biden.
On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, both Republicans, ordered their National Guard troops home.
