Topline
Hundreds of National Guard personnel tasked with protecting this week’s Inauguration festivities have caught Covid-19, Politico and the Wall Street Journal reported, as bipartisan fury erupts after some National Guard troops were evicted from the U.S. Capitol building this week and forced to take breaks in cramped nearby parking garages.
Members of the National Guard walk around the U.S. Capitol Rotunda during a tour hosted by Sen. Joe … [+] Manchin (D-W.V.) on Friday.
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Key Facts
Over 100 Guardsmen tested positive for Covid-19, and some are quarantining in local hotels, the Journal and Politico reported Friday, citing unnamed sources.
Troops were reportedly screened for coronavirus symptoms after they arrived in the nation’s capital, but some were not tested immediately, a source told Politico.
National Guard troops have worked and taken breaks in close quarters while on duty at the Capitol building, and outrage over their treatment grew on Thursday after units were ordered to leave the Capitol altogether and take their rest breaks in parking garages (it’s unclear whether the decision to vacate the Capitol is connected to any Covid-19 cases).
The National Guard Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Key Background
Roughly 25,000 National Guard troops were deployed to Washington, D.C. this week, part of an effort to tighten Inauguration security following the riots in the Capitol two weeks ago. Most troops are staying in nearby hotels while off duty, the National Guard says, but when they’re on duty, they take their rest breaks onsite. Many troops took those breaks in the halls of the Capitol in the runup to the Inauguration, but some were told to vacate the building on Thursday, forcing units to rest outside or on concrete floors in parking garages (the change was first reported by Politico). Lawmakers from both parties blasted this decision, calling it ungracious and unsanitary, and troops were eventually allowed to return to the Capitol.
Surprising Fact
It’s unclear why troops left the Capitol. A National Guard spokesperson told reporters Thursday that U.S. Capitol Police made the call, asking troops to temporarily relocate due to increased foot traffic, but the Capitol Police have denied that the agency kicked troops out. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) blamed the decision on an unnamed Capitol Police officer who made the order without authorization.
Tangent
Thousands of troops are set to leave D.C. over the next week, as their mission of preventing Inauguration violence winds down. After troops were spotted in parking garages, at least three Republican governors publicly ordered their states’ National Guard units to return: Ron DeSantis of Florida, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire and Greg Abbott of Texas.
Further Reading
Covid-19 Contracted by Scores of National Guard Members in Washington (Wall Street Journal)
‘Packed us together like sardines’: Guard deployed to Capitol struggles to contain Covid (Politico)
‘We feel incredibly betrayed’: Thousands of Guardsmen forced to vacate Capitol (Politico)
‘Outrageous’ And ‘Wrong’: Lawmakers React To The National Guard’s Eviction From The Capitol (Forbes)
