Hogan still puzzled by delay in approval for Maryland National Guard assistance during Capitol riot

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on Sunday that though the Maryland National Guard quickly mobilized upon hearing the U.S. Capitol had been breached on Wednesday, he was unable to get permission to send troops into Washington, D.C., for “quite some time.” 

Hogan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he was able to immediately send state police officers into D.C. But while governors can usually send members of their national guards across state lines with permission from another governor, he required permission from the Department of Defense in order to send troops into D.C.

“So, our Guard mobilized and was ready. But we couldn’t actually cross over the border into D.C. without the OK. And that was quite some time. We kept running it up the flagpole, our generals talking to the National Guard generals. And eventually, I got a call from Ryan McCarthy, the secretary of the Army, asking if we could come into the city. But we had already been mobilizing,” Hogan told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Maryland Gov. Hogan says the Trump administration delayed authorization for the state’s National Guard to be sent in during the US Capitol siege.

“We couldn’t actually cross over the border into DC without the OK… We were just waiting for that call.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/CsVAHa6CRr

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) January 10, 2021

Tapper asked if the governor believed Defense Secretary Christopher Miller’s delayed response was due to President Trump’s rhetoric.

“I think we’re going to figure that out, Jake, in the after-action report. I don’t know the answer to that question. All I know is that we were trying to get answers and we weren’t getting answers. It could have been just the fog of what’s going on,” said Hogan.

He continued, “We were ready. And there was a delay. And I was getting called from the leaders of Congress pleading with me to get our Guard into the city. And we were mobilizing to do that. And we were waiting to get the OK. I can’t tell you why.”

Tapper asked Hogan why it took until Thursday morning for the Maryland National Guard troops to arrive in D.C.

“It takes about 12 hours for Guard units to mobilize. These are folks that are doing something else. And they have to pack their bags, get their uniforms, show at the armories. We were the very first ones to arrive in the city,” Hogan responded.

“And so those extra three hours or so that we had to get ready certainly helped us get in there a little sooner … and be the first ones. But the big issue is, why were the Capitol Police and the federal law enforcement agencies not prepared for this? And why were we coming in to do a cleanup operation afterwards?”