Just over 1,000 National Guard members remain in Washington to protect the U.S. Capitol after their mission following a riot by Donald Trump supporters ran up a bill topping $500 million.
The $520 million National Guard presence, which surrounded the Capitol compound for months, began after the Jan. 6 riots and ended at midnight Sunday. The National Guard Bureau estimated the initial mission cost from January through March to be $410 million, and the extension until Monday cost an additional $111 million for a massive $521 million bill to protect a vast perimeter of the Capitol grounds through the winter and spring.
At its peak, nearly 26,000 Guard members were on duty in Washington, D.C., from all 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
“There’s no reimbursal plan,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told the Washington Examiner Monday. “The thousand or so [members] that are still in the [National] Capital Region are preparing for departure.”
‘COLLUSION OF STUPIDITY’: NATIONAL GUARD EXTENSION AT CAPITOL CONFOUNDS EXPERTS
Kirby said there would be no residual force left behind and no equipment transferred to the U.S. Capitol Police — and no plans for a quick-reaction force that could respond to a repeat of the violence at the legislative hall.
“Most of these soldiers were essentially acting as physical and barrier sentries,” Kirby added of the hundreds of Guard members who stood and patrolled each day behind fencing hundreds of feet from the Capitol doors.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was responsible for renewing the Guard mission in March despite a lack of clear threat intelligence, praised the citizen-soldiers who served.
“These airmen and soldiers protected not only the grounds, but the lawmakers working on those grounds, ensuring the people’s business could continue unabated,” Austin said in a statement.
“As these troops depart for home and a much-deserved reunion with loved ones, I hope they do so knowing how much the nation appreciates their service and sacrifice,” he added.
Guard members often stood in freezing temperatures pelted by rain and snow from behind 7-foot non-scalable fences. Initial concerns regarding dangerous protests faded when each new date of significance to conspiracy theorists came and went.
“The Capitol Police did not request the Guard to stay past May 23 and the mission concluded last night at 2359,” National Guard spokeswoman Capt. Chelsi Johnson told the Washington Examiner Monday. “The D.C. National Guard will return to normal operations and the out-of-state Guard members will return to their home station over the next few days.”
DOD spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell said most Guard troops should be home by Wednesday.
“They’re not standing watch,” he said of the Guard members still at the Capitol, noting they were out-processing before heading home.
Democratic lawmakers in the House Thursday passed a $1.9 billion Capitol Security Bill to reimburse the National Guard for its costs. The bill proposed paying for recommended security measures such as $250 million in retractable fencing and $200 million dollars to create a National Guard quick-reaction force.
Hundreds of millions of dollars more would go to hardening features such as doors and windows that were broken by pro-Trump rioters, to improve the Capitol Police intelligence division, and prosecute those responsible for the security breach that led to the death of five and injury of 140 police officers. The bill’s fate in the Senate is uncertain.
All Republicans voted against the House version of the bill. Many GOP members had criticized the continued Guard presence at the Capitol.
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Many of the security recommendations came from a report to Congress lead by retired Gen. Russel Honore. Absent congressional action, Kirby denied the Defense Department made a decision regarding Honore’s suggestions.
“No decisions have been made about any of the specifics,” Kirby said. “There’s no intention to have a quick reaction force.”
