Yahoo Autos 'We feel betrayed': Thousands of National Guard sent to sleep in car park after guarding Capitol
Thousands of national guardsmen were turfed out of the Capitol building on Thursday and sent to sleep in car parks, before being allowed back in late at night after complaints from lawmakers. Despite the quick reversal, two Republican governors commanded their troops home in protest.
President Biden expressed his "dismay" on Friday morning to General Daniel R Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard, about how the troops had been treated, the White House said.
About 25,000 Guard members from across the country were deployed to help secure President Biden's inauguration, which went off with only a handful of minor arrests.
On Friday Jill Biden, the First Lady, visited some of the troops outside the Capitol to thank them for their work and handed out chocolate chip cookies.
US Capitol police had ordered the reservists to vacate the building and set up camp outdoors or in nearby hotels, with thousands ending up stationed outside or in car parks.
“Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service. Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed,” one of the guardsmen told Politico.
The National Guard were brought into the US capital to provide security after Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6.
