Both Sinema and Kelly offer Senate offices for National Guard troops
Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly condemned news that thousands of National Guard troops brought in to protect the U.S. Capitol after the rampage by former President Donald Trump’s supporters were forced to take rest breaks elsewhere.
POLITICO first reported the news on Thursday night, sparking outrage from Sinema, D-Ariz., and Kelly, DAriz., as well as other Senate Democrats.
According to POLITICO, Capitol Police asked the guardsmen to move their rest area Thursday given the increased people in the buildings with Congress back in session. They had been taking breaks inside congressional buildings.
POLITICO reported that one of the areas troops were moved to was a cramped garage, putting them close together during the COVID-19 pandemic with sparse bathroom facilities and access to one power outlet.
Sinema, whose work in Congress has focused heavily on veterans affairs and who sits on the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, demanded answers — and offered her own office as shelter.
She had her team immediately call Capitol Police. The National Guard told Sinema’s office that troops will be allowed to rest back inside congressional buildings late Thursday, an aide to Sinema told The Arizona Republic. According to Sinema’s office, the National
Guard said troops will be allowed to rest inside congressional buildings.
“This is outrageous, shameful, and incredibly disrespectful to the men and women keeping the U.S. Capitol safe and secure,” Sinema wrote on Twitter. “We need it fixed and we need answers on how it happened.”
She added in another post: “My office is available; the Guard is welcome to it. There is plenty of space in the US Capitol for the men and women keeping us safe.”
Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain and retired astronaut, ripped the decision, saying it was “unacceptable and must be fixed.”
He offered up his temporary Senate office in the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and talked with the acting Senate sergeant at arms, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, and the Arizona National Guard to offer his office space and assistance to guardsmen.
“All week these troops have been protecting the Capitol,” Kelly wrote in a tweet. “I’ll be making my office available for any guardsmen who need it and encouraging others to do the same.”