Capitol Police want extension
Chief requests National Guard remain 60 days
U.S. Capitol Police have requested a 60-day extension of some of the 5,200 National Guard members activated in the District of Columbia in response to security threats and the Jan. 6 assault on Congress, defense officials said Thursday.
Acting chief Yogananda Pittman submitted the request to the Defense Department for an extension, Capitol Police said in a statement on Thursday evening, without saying for how long.
“The USCP is extremely grateful for the Department of Defense and the National Guard support provided since January 6th,” the statement said. “We understand the Guard has a tremendous service need back home responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Three defense officials said the Pentagon received the extension and that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army officials will consider it. If approved, it would keep Guard members on duty through May, said the officials.
About 5,200 Guard troops are staffing a security perimeter around the Capitol that includes miles of fencing. It was installed after the insurrection, launched by supporters of President Donald Trump.
“The current mission extends to March 12,” said Capt. Edwin Nieves, a spokesman for the D.C. National Guard. “We do not have an authorized extension of that mission at this time.”
The request appeared to catch D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser by surprise. “It was our expectation that the additional forces would be leaving now,” she said, adding, “we don’t know why additional forces have been requested until May.”
The request comes after Capitol Police officials said Wednesday that they had information about a possible attempt by a militia group to breach the Capitol on Thursday, a date that some followers of the Qanon extremist ideology falsely claim will mark Trump’s return to the White House. Concerns about Qanon at the Capitol were not borne out Thursday.
On Thursday, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-okla., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the request “outrageous.” Inhofe said the extended deployment is destroying people’s careers.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-minn., chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, said she would like to see the number of guardsmen “eventually” curtailed. “But you want to listen to the law enforcement intelligence about what is safe,” she said.