GOP Governors Recall National Guard Units Forced to Sleep in Unheated Parking Garage
The Republican governors of three states have ordered their National Guard troops back home after guardsmen in Washington, D.C., were reportedly cast out to sleep and take breaks in a cold parking garage after Wednesday’s inauguration.
Very few people have been told why 25,000 troops were needed for President Joe Biden’s Wednesday inauguration. The unofficial line is that they were needed to keep the peace after the Jan. 6 Capitol incursion. More threats from conservatives were apparently lurking around the corner.
But no additional threats ever materialized. Presumably, there were never any threats at all.
In any event, after Democrats, who now control the government, were seemingly finished with the troops, they were cast out of the buildings they were asked to defend. Their photo-op presence ended with many forced into the parking garage of the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, The New York Times reported.
Politico’s Lara Seligman was among the first to report on the fiasco.
“BREAKING: Thousands of Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and are now taking their rest breaks outside and in nearby parking garages,” Seligman tweeted Thursday.
BREAKING: Thousands of Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and are now taking their rest breaks outside and in nearby parking garages. https://t.co/wvoTMxq2V7 W/ @NatashaBertrand @AndrewDesiderio
— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) January 22, 2021
Images of American soldiers who had just been used as political props lying down on concrete in the middle of winter circulated online. Many people who have not yet been purged by Big Tech for their political beliefs have shared their outrage.
[firefly_poll]
Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer—why are American troops who are tasked with keeping security at the Capitol being forced to sleep in a parking lot?
They deserve to be treated with respect, and we deserve answers. pic.twitter.com/J0R2dRC8bM
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) January 22, 2021
Hundreds of Guard soldiers relegated to the Senate garage, breathing in exhaust fumes and covid. Story coming in a bit pic.twitter.com/8OW4frePOh
— Alex Horton (@AlexHortonTX) January 22, 2021
Thousands of Guardsmen left their families and jobs to keep the Capitol safe.
And what do they get for their service? Rest breaks in cold parking garages.
What a disgrace. https://t.co/3Rt6tYWM9t
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 22, 2021
The Republican governors of Florida, New Hampshire and Texas finally ended some of the madness by Friday morning.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was already upset by the reported political vetting of the troops ahead of the inauguration. He tweeted late on Thursday that he’d ordered the adjutant general of the Texas National Guard, Major Gen. Tracy Norris, to bring all the Lone Star State’s troops back home.
“I have instructed General Norris to order the return of the Texas National Guard to our state,” Abbott tweeted.
I have instructed General Norris to order the return of the Texas National Guard to our state. @TexasGuard
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 22, 2021
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu also announced he had called Granite State troops home in a tweet.
“I’ve ordered the immediate return of all New Hampshire National Guard from Washington DC. They did an outstanding job serving our nation’s capital in a time of strife and should be graciously praised, not subject to substandard conditions,” he wrote.
I’ve ordered the immediate return of all New Hampshire National Guard from Washington DC. They did an outstanding job serving our nation’s capital in a time of strife and should be graciously praised, not subject to substandard conditions. @NHNationalGuard
— Chris Sununu (@GovChrisSununu) January 22, 2021
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Fox News on Friday morning to talk about his decision to order his troops home. The governor took a shot at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and also criticized the entire mission as “half-cocked.”
“They’re soldiers, they’re not Nancy Pelosi‘s servants,” DeSantis said. “This is a half-cocked mission at this point, and I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home.”
It was an honor to witness Henry Sayler receive his first dose of the vaccine today. Florida is rapidly approaching a monumental milestone of 1 million seniors vaccinated. #SeniorsFirst pic.twitter.com/JoL6N1ybOH
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 22, 2021
The optics of tens of thousands of troops in Washington for the inauguration were already terrible for Democrats. Their presence didn’t assist in portraying the inauguration as legitimate to critics of the election.
Now, a blame game is happening, as no people in charge of the travesty seem to be quick to take credit for using and abusing our servicemen and women.
The U.S. Capitol Police say they didn’t order the troops out into the cold. That was after Fox News reporter Chris Tomlinson blamed the department for the saga in a report.
And the Capitol Police say it wasn’t them. https://t.co/5TuW3g1RhP pic.twitter.com/zhmM0PrlgW
— Jared Halpern (@JaredHalpern) January 22, 2021
Jack Posobiec with One America News Network reported a familiar face offered the troops the sanctuary of a D.C. hotel.
“SCOOP: Trump has given permission for the troops to stay at Trump Hotel DC if any of them need, per advisor,” Posobiec wrote on Twitter on Friday.
SCOOP: Trump has given permission for the troops to stay at Trump Hotel DC if any of them need, per advisor @OANN
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) January 22, 2021
That information hasn’t been independently verified, but it wouldn’t be a surprise, if true. It’s difficult to imagine former President Donald Trump sitting by idly as American soldiers were used by Democrats to portray him and his supporters as extremists, only to be literally left out in the cold.
It’s been 48 hours since Biden’s inauguration, and thousands of jobs have been lost while American troops have been used for no apparent reason other than that their presence made for good photos. Thankfully, three states with good leadership have pulled the plug on the politicization of those whose job it is to protect us all, and not just the narratives important to Democrats.
The New York Times reported that an estimated 7,000 troops could stay in Washington until at least the end of the month. Perhaps those men and women will find room and board at a minimum for the duration of their stay.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
