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WHY IS THE NATIONAL GUARD STILL IN WASHINGTON? There were roughly 25,000 National Guard members in Washington for the inauguration of President Joe Biden. It has been normal practice to have some National Guard in town for inaugurations, but 25,000 was way too many. The deployment was in large part an overreaction to the Capitol riot of January 6.
Now, 5,000 are still here. The inauguration was nearly two weeks ago. It went off without incident. There is no need for troops in Washington. And yet, if you go to the federal area of Washington, you’ll find tall fencing and razor wire creating a huge militarized zone around the Capitol, with National Guard members guarding it from inside the fence. The barrier is not just on the perimeter of the Capitol. It extends for blocks beyond the building in every direction.
Now, the head of Capitol Police wants to make the fencing permanent, and the National Guard has not left. They are apparently staying at least until mid-March, apparently because authorities fear another January 6-style riot from Trump supporters. “There are several upcoming events — we don’t know what they are — over the next several weeks, and they’re concerned that there could be situations where there are lawful protests, First Amendment-protected protests, that could either be used by malicious actors, or other problems that could emerge,” Secretary of the Army John Whitley told the press last week.
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The proposal to make the fence permanent has met bipartisan opposition, not only from Capitol Hill but from the District of Columbia government. But it’s a different story with the troops. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not called for sending the National Guard home, preferring to make vague and ominous statements like, “The enemy is within.” That is apparently Pelosi’s way of using the security issue for partisan advantage, accusing Hill Republicans of being the true enemy.
There are reports the troops are staying until mid-March because those in charge — Pelosi? Schumer? Others? — want troops at the ready during the Trump impeachment trial, set to begin next week in the Senate. There are other reports that there might be a big protest on March 4, which was the Constitution’s original presidential inauguration day until it was changed to January 20 in the 1930s. In any event, the troops are here.
The Biden White House is staying out of it, publicly at least. At a recent briefing, spokeswoman Jen Psaki declined to answer a question on the Guard, referring journalists to the Defense Department.
But there are some voices saying enough is enough. Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a U.S. Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, has called for the troops to go home. In a FoxNews.com op-ed, Cotton wrote that the Guard deserves gratitude for deploying on short notice after the violence at the Capitol began. They stayed for the two weeks until the inauguration. Now, it’s time for them to go.
“The lesson of the Capitol riot is not that we should quarter a standing army at the Capitol just in case,” Cotton wrote, “but rather that our security measures should be calibrated to the actual threats.” Cotton noted that he is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and is aware of no threat that would justify continued Guard presence.
In a text exchange Tuesday morning, Cotton gave his prescription for what should be done now: “Store fencing, send home troops. The Capitol Police can get reinforcements from local law enforcement and local National Guard much faster with coordination.” In other words, what the Capitol needs is better policing, not a standing army, and not a permanent fence, to deal with whatever threat may or may not be out there.
The question now is whether the leadership on Capitol Hill will listen. Will the fence really come down? Or will it continue to stand on a “temporary” basis? Will the troops go home, or will their “temporary” deployment last beyond March? Those are questions Speaker Pelosi and other top lawmakers need to answer.
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