DeSantis calls National Guard troops back from DC: ‘They’re not Nancy Pelosi’s servants’

“I mean, these folks are soldiers,” DeSantis said after the announcement that Florida’s troops would be coming home. “They’ve served our country all around the world. They’ve served our state of Florida after natural disasters. They’re serving right now helping with vaccinating senior citizens, and they’ve been on the front lines of the COVID fight. They’re soldiers. They’re not Nancy Pelosi’s servants.”

DeSantis also took issue with reports that National Guard members were being investigated for their political beliefs leading up to the inauguration.

“And this comes on the back end of them trying to investigate the backgrounds of our Guardsmen,” DeSantis added. “Florida, we did not let them go into their political beliefs. I thought that was totally inappropriate. I thought it was very disrespectful for people who are clearly patriots. So, this is a half-cocked mission at this point, and I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott agreed with DeSantis’s criticism and threatened to never send his state’s National Guard troops to the capital again.

“This is the most offensive thing I’ve ever heard,” Abbott tweeted Monday. “No one should ever question the loyalty or professionalism of the Texas National Guard. I authorized more than 1,000 to go to DC. I’ll never do it again if they are disrespected like this.”