Trump, who has proven over the past year that he is eager to deploy the National Guard when violence breaks out, initially resisted it on Capitol Hill on Wednesday when a crowd of his supporters stormed the building, according to a well-known source. Pence played a key role in coordinating with the Pentagon over its deployment and encouraged them to move faster than they were.
The news raises questions about who acted as commander-in-chief on one of the darkest days in America, which overtook the country’s legislature for the first time since the British attacked and burned the building in August 1814.
The Trump administration said earlier this week that civilian law enforcement would receive protection from federal facilities, but the Department of Defense on Wednesday received requests for additional support from the National Guard as the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, a senior defense official told CNN said.
As the chaos unfolded, doubts were raised as to whether Trump would order the DC National Guard to respond due to the slowness of the response. Public statements by Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and other top officials suggested that Pence finally approve the decision. Miller’s statement on Wednesday appeared to be that he did not even speak to Trump and rather discussed the matter with his deputy, as sources told CNN the president is reluctant to denounce even the violence perpetrated in his name set.
Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy questioned Wednesday whether Pence, not Trump, had ordered the DC National Guard to activate, but suggested the vice president finally approve the decision.
Asked by Fox News about the report that Pence, not the president, had approved the activation, McCarthy disputed it, but finally said: with security in the Capitol, I met with the early Vice President. It was to get the national guard there. He said he would call immediately. ‘
The comments appear to contradict what White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a tweet hours earlier when she claimed that Trump had “instructed” the national guard to respond to the situation.
Pence spoke with Defense Secretary and top general
Miller also confirmed that he and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Genl. Mark Milley spoke to Pence, not Trump, on Wednesday afternoon. He also said he was in touch with the best congressmen.
“President Milley and I only spoke separately with Vice President and Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Senator Schumer, and Representative Hoyer about the situation at the U.S. Capitol. help while they work to address the situation peacefully, ”he said in a statement.
“We are prepared to provide additional support as needed and appropriate as requested by local authorities. Our people are sworn to defend the constitution and our democratic form of government and they will act accordingly,” he said.
The national guard was only fully activated until a few hours after the violent mob descended on the capital.
Under that agreement, the national military did not have orders to provide protection to federal facilities. Important military commanders, including the joint chiefs of staff, were determined to keep military active duties out of the effort and limit the role of the national guard, several defense officials said.
The Pentagon’s long-standing focus was to show that civil law enforcement and state-active national guard are sufficient to control civil unrest.
‘A little confusion’
Pentagon chief spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement Wednesday night that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser had asked “about 340 DC National Guardsmen” earlier this week to assist DC police in preparing for possible protests. today.’
“The request has been approved. Today, the mayor requested the full activation of the DC Guard to support local and federal law enforcement while responding to the situation at the Capitol. The request was approved. There were no other requests from the DC government. not, “he said.
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy acknowledged that there was some confusion about the additional request.
“But while we were working through it, we finally decided half a hour later to mobilize the entire DC National Guard. It was incredibly fluid. But I finally have to go through the Secretary of Defense to get the final approval. To mobilize staff. and to carry out operations in cooperation with local authorities, ” he said.
A source familiar with the situation said White House staff were “terrified” of the violence at the Capitol and worried there would be more problems on the streets on Wednesday night.
“He does not want to” do more than he currently does, the adviser said.
“If we could throw him to the angry mob, we would now throw him to the angry mob,” the adviser said.
CNN’s Pamela Brown contributed to this report.