WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Hundreds of U.S. National Guard members, some from across the country, are on standby in preparation for President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday.
But representation from Florida will not be present. Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted Monday that the state is rejecting the Biden administration's request for assistance.
"Last week, the Biden Administration requested the assistance of State National Guards to deploy to Washington D.C. I have rejected this request — there will be no @FLGuard sent to D.C. for Biden’s State of the Union," the governor tweeted.
No immediate reason for the rejection was provided.
Florida's Republican governor and the Democratic leader of our nation are no strangers to disagreements. Most notably, in 2021, the two went back and forth about COVID-19 pandemic policies.
The state has also filed lawsuits against the president's administration over things like immigration and vaccine mandates.
And while Florida won't be helping to fill the slots, the Pentagon has approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. Fencing around the area is also back up in addition to police cars being stationed at major intersections and highways.
While there are no specific or credible threats related to President Joe Biden’s speech, law enforcement officials are taking no chances following the events of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Since then, the U.S. Capitol Police, charged with protecting lawmakers and anyone else in and around the Capitol, has beefed up security for planned protests in the area. And this time, officials are also preparing for trucker convoys that are planning protests against pandemic restrictions beginning this week, though officials aren't concerned about serious security issues with the possible protests.
The State of the Union address is designated as a “national special security event,” which clears the way for communication, funding and preparation between multiple agencies in Washington, including the Capitol Police, Pentagon, Homeland Security and District-area police. Other such events are the Super Bowl and the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The U.S. Secret Service is in charge of the event.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said Sunday the fencing is being erected around the Capitol grounds “out of an abundance of caution.”