Letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, Acting Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police Yogananda Pittman, and Acting Sergeant of Arms for the U.S. House of Representatives Timothy P. Blodgett - Huizenga, Michigan Members of Congress Request Briefing on Michigan National Guard Deployments to DC

Letter

Dear Madame Speaker:

Thank you for your efforts to keep the United States Capitol safe and secure during the recent presidential inauguration. It has come to our attention that 1,000 members of the Michigan National Guard will be returning to Washington, D.C. to assist with ongoing security efforts at the U.S. Capitol. It is also our understanding that this new assignment will require the Guard members to be in our nation's capital until mid-March.

As representatives of these service members and the state of Michigan, we are requesting an immediate intelligence briefing on the justification for not only redeploying the Michigan National Guard to Washington, D.C. but also significantly increasing the number of troops being sent from Michigan.

Many of the same men and women of the Michigan National Guard who have valiantly protected the Capitol during the inaugural mission will now be returning to Washington, D.C. after only being able to spend a short time with loved ones back home in Michigan. We must also consider the health threat and undue stress that the ongoing pandemic is causing on our service members as well as their families.

The men and the women of the Michigan National Guard will without question continue to answer the call to honorably serve both our state and our nation. In recent weeks they have sacrificed and put their own safety at risk to protect our nation's capital. It is critical that there remains due justification to send members of Michigan's National Guard back to Washington, D.C.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and we look forward to a timely response from your office.

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