Dems Play Politics with National Guard Funding

The police state and political symbology created in response to the mild vandalism of January 6th has resulted in the National Guard facing a $521 million budget shortfall as Guard troops were used as an occupying force in D.C. for nearly half a year.

Adding to the budget crisis has been the need for National Guard troops to help secure the southern border amidst the massive flood of illegal migrants responding to Joe Biden’s lax border policies. Now Guard units may have to cancel training (including flight training) and forgo vehicle and aircraft maintenance, which according to National Guard Bureau head General Daniel Hokanson would take months if not years to recover from.

Despite the total absence of any credible threat to the Capitol that would justify thousands of troops and fences surrounding the Capitol grounds, the characterization of the January 6th protests as a violent insurrection demanded hundreds of millions of dollars in security theater, and now threatens the readiness of the National Guard at a time of year when troops routinely help fight wildfires and other natural disasters around the country.

Although American taxpayers should never have had to pay for this political sideshow to begin with, congressional Republicans are arguing (logically) that any funding bill passed should simply make up the shortfall in National Guard and Capitol Police funding. Democrats in the House (as expected) have instead passed a $1.9 trillion “security” budget bill that is nearly four times the amount necessary to make up what was spent, arguing that they need to “harden” the security at the Capitol in response to what happened on January 6th.

Of course, Democrats make no mention of the fact that the Capitol police let the protesters enter the building, and in most cases were cordially conversing with the supposed insurrectionists, nor do they mention that Congress was back to business that night.

Now National Guard readiness is compromised, and Democrats are not letting the crisis go to waste as they bog down the supplementary funding bill with hundreds of millions of dollars of non-Guard funding. They are betting on the mainstream media to run cover for them and characterize the Republicans as the ones who are refusing to support the military.

Note: The publisher of Mile High Evening News is a current member of the Army National Guard. No opinions expressed in this article are meant to be taken as the position of the United States military or an endorsement of any political candidate or position, and are strictly the personal views of the author offered in a civilian capacity.