U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on Nov. 21, 2020.
Michigan Republican Rep. Lisa McClain joined other House Republicans in asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, to explain why National Guard troops still need to be deployed to Washington, D.C., and remain deployed through this fall.
“The only information we’ve gotten through the media is that the troops may be there through the fall,” McClain said in an interview with Fox TV on Monday (Feb. 15). “It’s very concerning, so myself and several of my colleagues asked Nancy Pelosi for a brief explanation: ‘Why do we need these troops here?’ But we haven’t heard anything back, nothing at all.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last week that National Guard security at the Capitol was estimated to cost taxpayers $483 million as of March 15. $284 million for personnel costs and $199 million for operational costs.
The congresswoman said, “What amazes me is that she (Pelosi) can do this without any disclosure, without any information, and just continue to spend money without any briefing. (Spending that money) makes no sense to me.”
Tens of thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to Washington to assist with security on Capitol Hill after it was breached Jan. 6.
About 5,000 soldiers are still expected to remain in the capital until March 15. But that deadline appears to have been extended by Pelosi. It was not immediately clear if there was any specific threat.
Tell me why,” McLean said. I think I have a nightmare under my bed.” McLean is a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).
She said, “Washington, D.C., is a ghost town. I feel very safe. There’s not a single person there.”
Pentagon spokesman Kirby revealed on Feb. 12 that more than 6,000 troops are currently deployed to Washington, DC.
Kirby said, “I think the exact number today (of deployments) is — I don’t want to make a guess …… is 6,061, and as of today they continue to support the FBI, Capitol Police, Park Police, the Secret Service, and the City of Washington. As far as I know, the mission requirements have not changed.”
In late January, 42 Republican House members sent a letter to Pelosi urging her to remove the barricades around the Capitol.
In response, Rep. Ted Budd, a North Carolina Republican, said, “We are asking Pelosi to remove those fences, which some fear will become ‘permanent militarized fences.'”
They wrote: “We are particularly concerned about recent reports that the fences around the Capitol could become permanent.”
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