WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon rejected a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance in what the mayor has called a ‘growing humanitarian crisis’ prompted by thousands of migrants being bused to the city from two southern states.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to provide Guard personnel and the use of the D.C. Armory to assist with the reception of migrants into the city, according to U.S. defense officials. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Friday that the district may send an amended, ‘more specific’ request, adding that she believes this is the first time a D.C. request for National Guard has been denied.
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet made public, said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s food and shelter program has provided funding for the problem, and has indicated those funds are sufficient at this point.
Bowser, the district’s Democratic mayor, formally asked the White House last month for an open-ended deployment of 150 National Guard members per day as well as a ‘suitable federal location’ for a mass housing and processing center.
