The top Democrat and top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee said they want to see National Guard troops protecting the U.S. Capitol “return home to their families,” as the cost of the extended mission grows.
In a statement released Thursday, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said “the present security posture is not warranted at this time.”
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“As the U.S. Capitol Police continues to build its personnel capacity, there is no doubt that some level of support from the National Guard should remain in the National Capital Region to respond to credible threats against the Capitol,” Smith and Rogers said. “We appreciate our guardsmen answering the call to protect the Capitol, but it’s time for us to review what level of security is required, so they can return home to their families and communities.”
National Guard open a gate in the razor wire topped perimeter fence around the Capitol to allow another member in at sunrise in Washington, Monday, March 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin overruled the chief of the National Guard Bureau with the decision to keep 2,280 National Guard troops at the U.S. Capitol, Fox News Channel reported exclusively on Thursday.
“The National Guard estimates the cost for the extension of the mission from March to May at $111 million,” National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Carver said in a statement. “After a review, we have revised our original January-to-March cost estimate of $482.8 million to $410 million due to under-execution. The new, projected cost estimate for the entire mission is $521 million.”
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That’s more than Capitol Police’s 2021 budget of $516 million.
“[W]e cannot ignore the financial costs associated with this prolonged deployment, nor can we turn a blind eye to the effects it will soon have on the National Guard’s overall readiness,” Smith and Rogers said in their statement.
Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, laid out in a memo his assessment that the National Guard cannot and should not fulfill the Capitol Police’s troop request at this time, making the case that the National Guard is already overstretched due to coronavirus constraints, civil disturbances and wildfires.
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“Efforts to date have not secured enough volunteers among supporting states to meet the USCP request of 2,280 soldiers, nor Option B of 1000 soldiers,” the memo stated.
Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson and Gillian Turner contributed to this report.
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