An uneasy peace has settled in Washington, D.C., with a week to go before Inauguration Day and a week after deadly violence tore through Capitol Hill.
Congress is out of session until President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated next week, buildings are boarded up across the city, the National Guard has descended upon the district, and President Trump no longer has an outlet (Twitter) to feed into the insatiable news cycle.
One of the White House press pool reports from Thursday bore the simple subject line: “No news.”
The constant talk of elections, fraud, protests, and the Electoral College has given way to an eerie calm after the events of Jan. 6, events which have left a poignant mark on the capital and will undoubtedly shape changes (some that are already being felt) in the weeks and months to come.
Exactly one week after the Capitol Hill siege, an ever-more fortified Congress voted on Wednesday to impeach Trump for a historic second time. House members had to walk through metal detectors to get to the floor as they voted, and after several GOP lawmakers refused to wear masks during the siege lockdown, members now must wear masks on the floor or stiff face fines.
A senior congressional staffer told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that the mood on Capitol Hill is “entirely different” and “a little unnerving” following the events of last week and the pause before members return back to Washington.
“This is really the first time I’ve ever felt a little, I don’t want to say scared, but a little uneasy about going back to work,” the senior staffer said, noting that he has worked in various capacities on Capitol Hill for years.
He added that there appears to be some mild tension between law enforcement and the staff, who seem to be viewed with a sense of suspicion as they walk the halls of Congress, something he had never felt before.
The staffer, who works for a Republican lawmaker, said that the security breach and its aftereffects “messed with a lot of people” and that there was somewhat of a feeling that it was unsafe to go back to work and be around the Capitol complex. He recalled that when he returned to work at the Capitol this week, “it was rough, it was really somber, really dark.”
Despite the partisan divide in Congress, the senior staffer said that there are some signs of unity among those who work for the lawmakers. Most of the House and the Senate are back for an in-district work period until next week, but many of the staffers are still roaming the well-guarded complex. He described it as a sense of “we’re in this together.”
As Congress awaits a new week with new challenges, security across the district has become ramped up in the lead-up to Biden’s inauguration. Up to 20,000 National Guard members are expected in and around the city in the coming days, and hotels are already filling up as security is sent in to bolster Washington.
“National Guard members will be postured to meet the requirements of the supported civil authorities up to and including protective equipment and being armed,” Capt. Tinashe Machona, a spokesman for the D.C. Guard, told the Washington Examiner this week.
After the incursion into the Capitol, which featured the undermanned police being quickly overwhelmed, there are concerns that demonstrators may try to make their presence known in the district around the date of Biden’s swearing-in ceremony. While 7-foot nonscalable fences now surround the Capitol complex, there are fears that other areas or landmarks in the city may become targets. In another unprecedented move, it was announced that even the National Mall would be closed to the public on Inauguration Day.
Rep. Conor Lamb, a Pennsylvania Democrat who was briefed about the coming days, said one threat involved “4,000 armed ‘patriots’” surrounding the Capitol to “prevent any Democrat from going in.”
Brian Harrell, the Department of Homeland Security’s former assistant secretary for infrastructure protection, told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that he fears for what is to come in the district and said that while security is incredibly tight, he worries that violence might still erupt.
“This is the calm before the storm, and I fully expect violence in the streets near Penn Quarter, similar to last inauguration,” said Harrell, a Trump appointee, in reference to a neighborhood located north of the National Mall and Capitol Hill. “The biggest concerns will be the introduction of IED weapons, mob violence, and the deliberate targeting of critical infrastructure.”
Another challenge is that some of those who attempted to incite an insurrection at the Capitol last week have military experience, a factor that Harrell says will further complicate security preparations for the district.
“Given that many of the extremist bad actors have military training, this is obviously problematic for security and law enforcement personnel,” Harrell warned. “Many have specialized training, some have seen combat, and nearly all have been fed disinformation and propaganda from illegitimate sources. … This is a powder keg cocktail waiting to blow.”
Meanwhile, as all of these preparations continue and anxieties percolate, one of the most prolific commentators about current events, Trump, has been left without a platform after Twitter barred him. The president’s silence has further contributed to the uneasy calm that has enveloped life in Washington and the world of U.S. politics.
Since the siege, the president has appealed to demonstrators not to incite violence and has recorded video messages urging unity and reconciliation, although it isn’t clear how much of an effect it will have as the country prepares to be thrust not only into a new presidency, but into a new and likely divisive impeachment trial. Only time will tell if the unnerving peace will hold.
“I want to be hopeful — but if I’m going to be completely honest, deep down inside, I’m a little scared,” the senior congressional staffer said.
