Sen. Cotton: Time to send National Guard troops home from Capitol

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Sen. Cotton: Time to send National Guard troops home

GOP Sen. Tom Cotton tells 'Fox & Friends' that he's not aware of any threat that would keep National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. now or until the fall.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called for National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., to be sent home Tuesday, in response to an internal memo indicating troops could be on the ground near the U.S. Capitol until fall of 2021.

Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told "Fox & Friends" that he is not aware of any threat that would keep troops at the Capitol now or in the future.

KEEPING NATIONAL GUARD IN DC HAS COST AN ESTIMATED $438 MILLION

Approximately 6,000 National Guard members on duty in D.C. were scheduled to remain through mid-March. An internal communication obtained by FOX 5 DC shows the National Security Council has asked the Department of Defense to coordinate plans for continued deployment beyond next month.

A group of House Republicans are also calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to brief members of Congress on why National Guard troops may remain in Washington, D.C., until the fall.

"Myself and several of my colleagues have asked Nancy Pelosi for a briefing as to ‘Why do we need these troops here?’ And we have received zero information, zero," Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., said Monday on "Fox & Friends."

"It’s amazing to me that [Pelosi] can do this without any disclosure, without any information and just continue to spend money with no briefing," she added. "Doesn’t make sense to me."

TOM COTTON: "It is time to send the troops home. Look, there are too many troops left in Washington. I'm not aware of any – any – threat to justify a continued presence today around the capital, much less into the fall. I think Nancy Pelosi will have a lot of questions to answer about what she knew leading up to the riot on Jan. 6. There was a clear failure by the security leaders on Capitol Hill to prepare for Jan. 6.

The officers of the Capitol Police performed bravely but they're right to have no confidence in their leadership. That doesn't mean, though, that we should turn the Capitol into an armed fortress or camp for thousands of soldiers. It means we should use common sense and assess the threats that we face and respond accordingly. 

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Congress isn't even in session this week yet. We have thousands of troops guarding the Capitol where congressmen and senators and their staff work at a time when the security threats simply do not justify, at least to my knowledge – if they do, Nancy Pelosi must come forth and explain why they do."