National Guard’s deployment in DC unclear after March 12, defense official says
JOE GROMELSKI/STARS AND STRIPES
By SARAH CAMMARATA | STARS AND STRIPES Published: March 3, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has not yet decided whether National Guard members deployed to protect the Capitol Building will stay past March 12 when their current orders expire, a defense official told two Senate committees at a hearing Thursday.
“We’re trying to figure out with the Capitol Police Board what’s going to happen after the 12th. We need an answer in the Defense Department so that we understand, so [Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin] can review and make a decision on how that support will either be continued or adjusted,†said Robert Salesses, acting assistant secretary of defense focused on homeland defense and global security. The board oversees the police force.
Pentagon chief spokesman John Kirby maintained this week that the Defense Department has not received an additional request to keep the troops in Washington longer than March 12 and the National Guard will continue its mission until then.
https://www.stripes.com/national-guard-s-deployment-in-dc-unclear-after-march-12-defense-official-says-1.664321
