Pentaton Set to Approve Extending National Guard’s Deployment in D.C.

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:22 pm

The Pentagon is set to approve extending the National Guard’s deployment in Washington, D.C. for another 60 days. Final details are still being worked out, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to sign off on the extension, according to department officials.

Last week, Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman asked the National Guard to continue to provide security at the United States Capitol for two more months.

At the moment, 5,000 members of the National Guard are stationed in Washington D.C. but were due to leave on March 12 if their mission was not extended. Politico reported that it is still unclear whether “Guard troops currently in Washington would have to stay an extra day or two while the new forces arrive and get trained and settled in.”

The request came after Capitol Police confirmed they uncovered intelligence that a militia group would try to breach the Capitol, nearly two months after a group of former President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the complex in a bid to overturn the results of an election that President Joe Biden won decisively.

“The United States Capitol Police Department is aware of and prepared for any potential threats towards members of Congress or towards the Capitol complex,” the agency said in a statement on March 3. “We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4.”