Pelosi taps D.C. National Guard chief to lead House security
Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, was tapped Friday to become the House’s first African-American sergeant-atarms as Congress sorts through the grave security failings revealed by the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday announced the appointment of Walker, who was closely involved with the security that day as he dispatched troops to back up overwhelmed Capitol Police.
He will replace Paul Irving, who resigned immediately after the insurrection. Walker’s testimony has been a crucial part of investigations into how hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump could have invaded the Capitol and sent members of the House and Senate fleeing for their lives. National Guard troops were delayed in getting to the building as the rioters beat up police officers and smashed through windows and doors to get in.
Walker testified in a Senate hearing that the thenchief of the Capitol Police requested military support in a “voice cracking with emotion” in a 1:49 p.m. call that day as rioters began pushing toward the Capitol. Walker said he immediately relayed the request to the Army but did not learn until after 5 p.m. that the Defense Department had approved it. Guard troops who had been waiting on buses were then rushed to the Capitol, arriving in 18 minutes, Walker said.
While other officials have pointed blame at one another and spoken of meetings and conversations about the optics of a military presence, Walker has given the most detailed account of the delay. Pentagon officials have said they wanted to take time to understand precisely how National Guard troops would be used at the Capitol and what assignments they would be given.
Walker said he hoped that his testimony would “prevent such tragic events from ever occurring again” and that he was “sickened by the violence and destruction I witnessed that fateful day.” He said he saw the physical and mental harm suffered by the police who were on the front lines.
Pelosi praised Walker’s 39 years of military experience, which she said “will be an important asset to the House, particularly in light of the Jan. 6 insurrection.”
“It is essential that we work to strengthen our institution and keep our Capitol community, and all who visit, safe,” she said.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy also praised Walker, saying he “possesses the experience, skill set and vision” for the job.
“Every member, staffer, employee, and visitor to the Capitol should feel safe with Maj. Gen. Walker at the helm of Sergeant at Arms operations,” McCarthy said.
Walker’s appointment comes as the House is ramping up its investigations into the events of Jan. 6. On Thursday, seven House committees asked 10 federal agencies for documents and communications from the government as part of a wide-ranging investigation.
Pelosi is expanding the House probe as hopes for creating an independent commission to study the attack are fading.
Pelosi had proposed legislation that would create a panel modeled after the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks, but Republicans rejected the proposal, saying it would be overly tilted toward Democrats.
Pelosi said Thursday that she would still like to have a bipartisan commission but that there were other ways to investigate the riot, which was led by Trump supporters who sought to stop lawmakers from certifying Joe Biden’s election.
“We have to find the truth,” Pelosi said. “And we will, and we’re not walking away from that.”
The committees sent letters to the White House, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, National Archives, FBI, National Guard Bureau, the Park Police and the departments of Justice, Defense, Interior and Homeland Security. They asked for documents and communications between early December and Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration about preparations for protests, discussions about the electoral count and any action related to the events of Jan. 6 and its aftermath.
Senate committees are also looking into the insurrection. The Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Rules Committee have held two hearings with security officials about what went wrong.