About 5,000 members of the National Guard will remain stationed in DC through Trump’s impeachment trial.
The trial is set to begin in early February, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Members of the National Guard were stationed in DC after the insurrection at the US Capitol.
As many as 5,000 members of the US National Guard are to remain stationed in Washington, DC, through the middle of March following their deployment to DC after the deadly January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol and ahead of President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
A spokesperson for the National Guard in a statement to Insider confirmed that troops would remain in DC at least through March.
“As we continue to work to meet the final post-inauguration requirements, the National Guard has been requested to continue supporting federal law enforcement agencies with 7,000 members and will draw down to 5,000 through mid-March,” the agency spokesperson said. “We are providing assistance such as security, communications, medical evacuation, logistics, and safety support to state, district, and federal agencies.”
The news was first reported Sunday by Politico. According to the report, troops will remain stationed in DC in order to address security concerns over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, which will begin the second week of February, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, previously announced.
About 7,000 troops will remain in Washington until the beginning of February when about 2,000 of them trickle out of DC, according to Politico. While some members of the National Guard are involuntarily required to stay in Washington, the majority of those to remain in the nation’s capital volunteered, according to the report.
More than 20,000 troops were stationed in DC as the nation braced for more unrest around the inauguration of President Joe Biden last week, which was unlike any previous inauguration ceremony. While security is typically high on Inauguration Day, it was ramped up following the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6.
Last Friday, Biden called the National Guard’s chief on Friday to apologize after images circulated online of troops sleeping in a parking garage. Also in response to the viral photos, at least four governors said they would order National Guardsmen from their states to return home, Politico reported.
Five people died when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol while lawmakers met inside to discuss the Electoral College vote in December that affirmed Biden’s win in last year’s presidential election. Former President Donald Trump refused to concede his loss and prior to the insurrection spoke to the would-be rioters outside the White House, continuing to propagate his unfounded and baseless claims that widespread voter fraud led to his loss.
The riot at the Capitol spawned Trump’s impeachment, marking him as the only US president to ever be impeached more than once. While he’s already out of office, if convicted by the Senate, Trump faces the possibility of a second vote that would permanently bar him from holding federal office.