Classified intelligence briefings to lawmakers have not detailed any major threats posed against the Capitol and it is time for the National Guard to go home, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said this week. He added, however, that he backs a proposal for a permanent Guard quick-reaction force for the district.
"There is no credible threat, so I'm going to be anxious to see where they land on this issue with the guardsmen for a more long-term solution," Rogers said this week in a call with reporters. "I don't believe there's a need for any guardsmen on the Hill. It's police action."
Support for a continued National Guard presence around the Capitol has hit rock bottom, with a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers calling for them to pack up and leave.
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The National Guard is expected to remain at the Capitol at least through May. Capitol Police said threats against lawmakers have nearly doubled since the pro-Trump assault on Jan. 6. But neither law enforcement nor the Pentagon has described any specific threats that warrant a constant armed military presence, drawing key lawmakers' ire.
"This isn't supposed to be their job forever," Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a member of the Armed Services Committee, said earlier this month. "We need a plan to protect the Capitol that ultimately doesn't depend on the Guard."
The mission also seemingly has little support from top brass. In a memo obtained by Fox News, Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, suggested withdrawing from D.C., saying states are unwilling to continue the mission. He added that the unclear mission parameters hinder the Guard's ability to juggle its other domestic missions, such as vaccine distribution and deployments abroad. Hokanson reportedly was overruled by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Rogers said he supports the recommendation from a task force charged with coming up with solutions to boost congressional security. That recommendation would establish a permanent Guard quick reaction force, or QRF, for all of D.C., based somewhere away from the Capitol.
"One of the things they would like to see is a rapid response National Guard Unit, which I'm fine with, being remote from the campus, and I would support that," Rogers said. "But that's about as close as we need to having guardsmen around the Capitol."
A permanent National Guard QRF could be a tall order for the force. Beyond the costs of maintaining this unit, most Guard troops maintain full-time civilian jobs, and the Guard does not provide child-care benefits.
However, Rogers doesn't agree with the idea of a permanent military presence at the Capitol itself. The current plan has the remaining contingent of about 2,300 troops returning home in May. About 27,000 guardsmen were at the Capitol during the mission’s peak immediately following the siege.
"Now they believe that there should be a contingent of guardsmen, a much smaller contingent, but nonetheless, a contingent of guardsmen remain for the foreseeable future," Rogers added. "That's where I differ a little bit with them."
-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
Related: Task Force Calls for Permanent National Guard Force to Protect DC
