National Guard ‘rapid response’ force was not equipped to respond rapidly to Capitol siege

That’s a significant increase over the 340 troops requested by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for last week’s “March to Save America” rally that turned into a violent, deadly siege of the Capitol.

UNARMED, UNEQUIPPED: By the mayor’s request, the D.C. Guard troops called up last week were unarmed and restricted to traffic and crowd control away from the Capitol, so when things turned ugly, they were out of position and not equipped to provide backup.

There were about 40 troops held in reserve as a “rapid response” force, but they were prepared to direct traffic and crowds, not put down riots.

“They were not designed for anything beyond that,” said Hokanson. “When the Capitol Police requested that additional support, that quick reaction force, also, with the folks at the traffic control points and the metro stops, all went back to the armory to get equipped and get briefed and moved out as quickly as they could.”

‘THE SITUATION IS DIRE’: On CNN, Hokanson was questioned about a Washington Post report that quoted now-former Capitol Hill Police Chief Steven Sund as pleading with the Pentagon to move the Guard troops to the Capitol, only be told by Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, director of the Army Staff, he would not recommend Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy approve the request. “I don’t like the visual of the National Guard standing a police line with the Capitol in the background,” Piatt reportedly said.

Again and again, Sund said, “The situation is dire … I have got to get boots on the ground,” recalled an aide to Mayor Bowser. Hokanson said he wasn’t on that call, and Piatt issued a statement denying he delayed approval of the request.

“It’s important that in the midst of a dire situation, we have a clear plan and understand the task, purpose, and role of our Guardsman before we employ them,” he said. “I did not make the statement or any comments similar to what was attributed to me by Chief Sund in the Washington Post article but would note that even in his telling, he makes it clear that neither I, nor anyone else from DoD, denied the deployment of requested personnel. The approval to deploy was received approximately forty minutes after that call initiated.“

STAY HOME: Meanwhile, Mayor Bowser is urging everyone to stay away from downtown Washington on Inauguration Day.

“Our goals right now are to encourage Americans to participate virtually,” she said at a news conference. “Further, I am requesting the secretary of the Department of the Interior cancel any and all public gathering permits in the District of Columbia.”

Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Victor I. Nava. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.

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NOTE TO READERS: Daily on Defense will not publish next Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday.

HAPPENING TODAY: The House votes today on a resolution that will give Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet 24 hours to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office before proceeding to a vote tomorrow on a single article of impeachment for “incitement of insurrection.”

The impeachment effort is expected to have some Republican supporters, but some Democrats are suggesting holding back and not sending the article of impeachment to the Senate until the Biden administration is fully functioning, reports Washington Examiner Chief Congressional Correspondent Susan Ferrechio.

“At least one top Democrat suggested the House could sit on the impeachment article for several months, clearing the deck for incoming President Joe Biden and a new Democratic majority in the Senate and their top agenda priorities, which include additional coronavirus recovery aid. And a key Senate Democrat said Monday that he agreed.”

CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION: Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy, leader of the Blue Dog Coalition and a former national security specialist at the Pentagon, is calling for a special commission to investigate last week’s attack.

“The assault on the Capitol exposed our vulnerability to domestic & foreign terrorists who seek to harm our nation. I’m calling for a bipartisan commission w/ subpoena power to investigate who knew what & when, recommend ways to bolster our defenses, & help prevent future attacks,” she tweeted.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth has written acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, requesting the Pentagon look into whether active-duty or retired military members took part in the deadly rampage.

If such individuals are identified, Duckworth called for the Pentagon “to take appropriate action to hold individuals accountable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” noting that “upholding good order and discipline demands that the U.S. Armed Forces root out extremists that infiltrate the military and threaten our national security.”

Meanwhile, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is calling for Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz to be placed on the national no-fly list for their part in challenging the results of the Electoral College.

“There’s no exemption for being put on the no-fly list. Even a member of Congress that commits a crime, you know, they expel from the body. There are ethics charges that can be brought against those individuals. And people are looking at all this. What Hawley did and what Cruz did was horrible,” he said in an interview on SiriusXM’s The Joe Madison Show.

“The new member from Colorado [Lauren Boebert], who basically tweeted directions and everything that was going on — that’s not something you do,” Thompson said. “Somebody said, ‘Well, she’s new.’ Well, the point is ignorance of the law is no excuse. So if you don’t know, you’ve still done something wrong.”

BLINDSIDED ON YEMEN: Some members of Congress were hopping mad when they learned the State Department, at Secretary Mike Pompeo’s direction, intends to designate the Houthis in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization.

“Make no mistake, the Houthis have engaged in persistent behavior that should be carefully scrutinized,” said Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “However, labeling the Houthis as terrorists at this point could disrupt the flow of aid to the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe and undermine the ongoing peace negotiations led by United Nations Special Envoy Martin Griffiths.”

“It could also push them closer to Iran. The designation could have the effect of making the region more dangerous and cost innocent lives,” Smith said, adding, “What’s more, it is highly problematic that President Trump is making a decision of this magnitude with only days remaining in his term.”

‘STOP F—ING LYING’: According to a report in Foreign Policy, congressional staffers “exploded at Trump administration briefers in an expletive-laden phone call,” when they got the news Monday about the Houthi terrorist designation, as well as plans to list Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

“The call, which included the State Department’s top official on Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, sparked protests from both Republican and Democratic staffers angered by the administration’s failure to engage Congress,” Foreign Policy reported.

“Staffers on the call said they’d ‘never heard staff drop f-bombs on an official call like this,’” said the report, citing a source briefed on the call. “You need to stop f—ing lying to Congress,” one staffer snapped, according to two sources.

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: FBI bulletin says armed protests are being planned for all 50 state capitols as inauguration looms: Report

Washington Examiner: ‘Several’ Capitol Police officers suspended following Capitol siege

Washington Examiner: Democrats eye letting impeachment articles sit in Senate for months to give Biden opening

Washington Examiner: National Guard addresses Capitol response criticism, possible arming for inauguration

Washington Examiner: Army investigating Fort Bragg soldier over her participation in Trump rally

Washington Examiner: US designating Yemen’s Houthis a terrorist group starting day before Biden inauguration

Washington Examiner: Biden taps career diplomat William Burns to lead CIA

Washington Examiner: ‘Technical difficulties’: State Department page declares premature end to Trump’s presidency

Washington Post: Beaten, sprayed with mace and hit with stun guns: police describe injuries to dozens of officers during assault on U.S. Capitol

Reuters: Exclusive: Pentagon Presses Ahead With Afghanistan Troop Drawdown Despite Law Barring It

Breaking Defense: CNO: Shipbuilding Mistakes Could Mean ‘We May Not Be Able To Recover In This Century’

Defense News: Here’s The U.S. Navy’s Plan To Stop Its String Of Shipbuilding Failures

Stars and Stripes: Adm. Gilday Announces 10-Year Plan For Navy To Compete Against Russia, China

Bloomberg: F-35 Flies With 871 Flaws, Only Two Fewer Than a Year Earlier

19fortyfive.com: Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 Mach 6 Darkstar: What We Know

Bloomberg: Biden Defense Pick to Get Up to $1.7 Million From Raytheon Role

Reuters: China Condemns U.S. As Taiwan Welcomes Lifting Of Curbs On Ties

South China Morning Post: U.S. Says Mike Pompeo Won’t Go To Taiwan After Chinese State Media Warns Such A Trip May ‘Trigger A War’

Military.com: Female DIs Who Served At Marines’ All-Male Boot Camp Say They Were Brought Out For VIP Visits, But Limited In Training Recruits

Air Force Magazine: Barrett, Five Other Top USAF Civilians to Leave Posts

Calendar

TUESDAY | JANUARY 12

9 a.m. — Institute for Policy Studies webinar: “Setting a Progressive Foreign Policy Agenda,” with panel discussions on “The State of U.S. Foreign Policy and Prospects for the Future in a COVID-19 Era,” “Progressive New Deal – Foreign Policy Implications,” and “Rebuilding Multilateralism – Fair International Organizations for a Multipolar World.” https://ips-dc.org/events

9 a.m. — Intelligence National Security Alliance virtual discussion on “the enduring strength of the U.S.-U.K. partnership and how the nations are collaborating to advance mission needs related to cybersecurity, counterterrorism and great power competition,” with Rob Joyce, special U.S. liaison officer at the U.S. Embassy in London. https://www.insaonline.org/event

10:30 a.m. — Brookings Institution webcast: “New Voices from Afghanistan,” with Omar Sharifi, Kabul director of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies; Omar Sadr, assistant professor at the American University of Afghanistan; Muska Dastageer, lecturer in gender, peace and security at the American University of Afghanistan; and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/events/new-voices-from-afghanistan/

11 a.m. — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research virtual discussion of “counterterrorism policy, past and future,” Nathan Sales, State Department counterterrorism coordinator; Bruce Hoffman, senior counterterrorism and homeland security fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; and Katherine Zimmerman, AEI resident fellow. http://www.american.com/watch/aei-livestream

12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Noon Report” with Sgt. Major of the Army Michael Grinston, and retired Sgt. Major of the Army Daniel Dailey, vice president of NCO and soldier programs, AUSA. https://www.ausa.org/events/ausa-noon-report-sma-grinston

5 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual Taiwan and Indo-China Regional Security Architecture Conference, with former Assistant Defense Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randy Schriver; Rory Medcalf, head of the Australian National University’s National Security College; Lai I-chung, president of the Prospect Foundation; and Yasuhiro Matsuda, professor of international politics at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event

WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 13

10:30 a.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace virtual discussion: “Joe Biden’s Tough Challenges in Iran,” with Jarrett Blanc, senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former lead State Department coordinator for the Iran Nuclear Deal; James Jeffrey, chair of the Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former ambassador to Iraq and Turkey and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Robin Wright, USIP-Wilson Center distinguished fellow; author and columnist for The New Yorker; and Steve Inskeep, moderator, host of NPR’s Morning Edition. https://www.usip.org/events/joe-bidens-tough-challenges-iran

11 a.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: ‘Building an Army Ready for Great Power Competition,” with Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville; and Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Center for National Defense. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event

11:30 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Lexington Concord virtual discussion with Air Force Lt. Gen. Shaun Morris, commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to provide an update on the overall health of the AFLCMC programs. https://www.afcealexcon.org/programs-events

2 p.m. — Association of Old Crows virtual discussion with Air Force Lt. Gen. David “DT” Thompson, vice commander of the Space Force, part of the EMSO (Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations) Leadership series. https://www.crows.org

2 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center virtual discussion: “Is NATO prepared for the Future? Reflections on NATO 2030: United for a New Era,” German Bundestag Member Thomas de Maiziere, former German Interior and Defense minister; Former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell, vice chairman of the board of the Center for European Policy Analysis; and Daniel Hamilton, fellow and director of the WWC Global Europe Program. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/nato

3 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast on the Asia-Pacific, with former Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo. https://www.csis.org/events

7 p.m. — Politics and Prose Bookstore virtual book discussion on Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy, focusing on Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong and Saddam Hussein, with author Kenneth Davis. https://www.politics-prose.com/event

THURSDAY | JANUARY 14

11:30 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual discussion: “Shaping a Common, Modern, Joint Defense,” with Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency; Christopher Barnhurst, DISA executive deputy director; Serena Chan, director of the DISA Cyber Development Directorate; Brian Hermann, director of the DISA Services Development Directorate; Llewellyn “Don” Means Jr., executive at the DISA National Leadership Command Capabilities; Steve Wallace, systems innovation scientist at the DISA Emerging Technologies Directorate; and Army Maj. Gen. Garrett Yee, DISA assistant to the director. https://dcevents.afceachapters.org/DISA2021

1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “Why America Needs the Long Range Standoff Weapon,”: with: Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Lt. Gen. James Dawkins; Peter Huessy, director of strategic deterrence studies at the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies; and Patty-Jane Geller, policy analyst for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at Heritage https://www.heritage.org/missile-defense/event

3 p.m. — Henry L. Stimson Center webinar: “U.S. Congress and the Legacies of the Vietnam War,” with Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.; Tim Rieser, senior foreign policy aid to Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; and Matthew Breay Bolton, associate professor at Pace University. https://www.stimson.org/event

FRIDAY | JANUARY 15

9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “A New Transatlantic Agenda,” with European Union Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event

9:30 a.m. — George Washington University School of International Affairs webinar: “U.S.-China Relations Under the Biden Administration,” with David Michael Lampton, director of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Barbara Stallings, research professor at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs; William Rhodes, research professor at Brown University’s Institute for International and Public Affairs; and Deborah Lehr, vice chairman and executive director of the Paulson Institute https://calendar.gwu.edu/us-china-relations

1 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcas on “great power competition with China, COVID-19 relief efforts, the Trump administration’s work on religious freedom, the future of U.S. foreign assistance, and opportunities and challenges for the incoming Biden administration,” with Jim Richardson, director of U.S. foreign assistance resources at the State Department. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event

3 p.m. — Reagan Institute virtual discussion: “U.S. Foreign Policy in 2021 and Beyond,” with Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo and Roger Zakheim, director, Reagan Institute. https://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs-events

MONDAY | JANUARY 18

Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Federal holiday

TUESDAY | JANUARY 19

11 a.m. — Arms Control Association Zoom webinar “Nuclear Challenges for the Biden Administration in the First 100 Days,” with Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy; Kingston Reif, director for disarmament and threat reduction policy; Daryl Kimball, executive director; and Tom Countryman, fmr. acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, and ACA’s board chair. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Noon Report” with Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville; and retired Gen. Carter Ham, President and CEO, AUSA. https://www.ausa.org/events/noon-report-mcconville

3 p.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee holds confirmation hearing for Lloyd J. Austin III to be Secretary of Defense. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20

Inauguration Day — Federal holiday

TUESDAY | JANUARY 26

3 p.m. — Air Force Association “Air and Space Warfighters in Action” event, with Brig. Gen. Jeremy Sloane, commander of the 36th Wing, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register