There are already hundreds of National Guardsmen who have reportedly tested positive for Coronavirus since working to secure President Joe Biden’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday. Now, lawmakers are concerned that the required duty for Biden has become a “superspreader event.”
According to POLITICO’s report, they stated that hundreds of Guard members already tested positive for Coronavirus or are quarantining nearby hotels.
Parking garage life. Troops and lawmakers are concerned the mandated duty for Biden* has become a “superspreader event.” ]👉🏻 Hundreds Of National Guardsmen Test Positive For Covid, Quarantine After Capitol Duty https://t.co/sKdQilizpz
— Junkyard Dogs (@baileyjer) January 23, 2021
In addition to that, there has also been an additional concern regarding the testing protocols, or lack of it, particularly after a picture of National Guardsmen surfaced sleeping side by side in closed parking spacing. After the event, some troops were also forced to have their own COVID tests, while others were forced to leave their quarantine early in order to report to their duties.
A Guard member said, “We did not get Covid tests on arrival, right after the holidays, they packed us together like sardines in buses and rooms for this.”
Notably, on Thursday evening, disturbing pictures were circulated on social media as it revealed troops sleeping in cold parking spaces, which “compounded” the COVID-19 issues, POLITICO reported.
The Daily Wire also reported on Thursday that there were thousands of National Guardsmen who were forced to leave the congressional grounds on Thursday and have been photographed sleeping in parking garages despite the freezing temperatures in Washington D.C.,
MILITARY SOURCE IN DC:
“For the last week my battalion has been sleeping on the floor in the Senate cafeteria. Today the Senate kicked us out & moved us to a cold parking garage.
5000 soldiers.
1 power outlet.
One bathroom.
This is how Joe Biden’s America treats solders.”PHOTOS pic.twitter.com/622sQmciq4
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) January 22, 2021
The living conditions that the National Guardsmen endured came right after Democrats took complete control of the federal government in the week when Joe Biden was sworn as the 46th President of the United States.
One Guard unit also said that they were “forced to rest in a garage with
only one bathroom available for 5,000 troops.”
The Senate Rules Committee is not conducting an investigation about the matter. They highlighted a “particular focus on concerns about the Guard implementing proper coronavirus precautions.”
One member of the Guard also said that they believe that majority of the cases of were asymptomatic and that they originated from the home stations of the troops.
According to reports, there were almost 25,000 troops who were assigned to be present on inauguration day. This number is more than two and a half times that the required number to secure the inauguration of former President Barack Obama.
25,000 National Guard troops are being deployed ahead of next week’s inauguration — more troops in Washington than in wars overseas. Many of the troops are being mustered in the corridors of the Capitol itself, as they were in 1861 during the Civil War. https://t.co/YRXXpmb0qe pic.twitter.com/L0S7oop2o7
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 18, 2021
Meanwhile, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis aired his reaction on Friday morning as he reacted to the debacle that the administration did with the troops. He then ordered Florida Guard members to go back home from the U.S. Capitol because they are not Nancy Pelosi’s servants.”
DeSantis also called the “mission” in D.C. “half-cooked” and slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for treating troops like her “servants.” The Governor reportedly stated, “they’re not Nancy Pelosi’s servants’ and ‘this is a half-cocked mission at this point and I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home,'”
Republican Governor Greg Abbott also reacted to the report, ordering on Thursday that members of the Texas National Guard to come back home to Texas. Abbott said on Twitter, “I have instructed General Norris to order the return of the Texas National Guard to our state.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also wrote in a Tweet, “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.”
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
Up to date, there are still no comments nor statements given by House Speaker Pelosi about the troubling issue. Her daughter, Christine Pelosi, who often speaks on behalf of her mother, reportedly responded to McCarthy’s tweet, mocking the House Minority Leader and former President Trump. She said, “Shhhh Don’s in Florida and off Twitter. You don’t have to rage tweet his deflections anymore. PS the Guard is out of the garage and back at the Capitol no thanks to you.”
