AOC, Madison Cawthorn, Other Lawmakers Offer National Guard Resting Space In Their Offices

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Madison Cawthorn and several other lawmakers, offered their offices as resting spaces for National Guardsmen after they were reportedly moved from the U.S. Capitol and into a nearby parking garage.

Photos and videos circulated across social media on Thursday, showing members of the National Guard laying on the floors of the parking garage. Over 25,000 members of the Guard were deployed in Washington D.C. following the January 6 riots at the Capitol, as well as adding increased security for President Joe Biden‘s inauguration.

“Yeah this is not okay. My office is free this week to any service members who’d like to use it for a break or take nap on the couch. We’ll stock up on snacks for you all too,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a tweet on Thursday night. “(We’re in the middle of moving offices and it’s a bit messy so don’t judge, but make yourself at home!)”

Newsweek reached out to Ocasio-Cortez for comment.

Cawthorn, a representative from North Carolina delivered pizza to the National Guardsmen, as well as offering up his office as a resting space.

“I just visited the solders [sic] who have been abandoned & insulted by our leaders. I brought them pizza and told them that they can sleep in my office. No soldier will ever, ever sleep on a garage floor in the US Capitol while I work in Congress,” Cawthorn wrote in a tweet with a video of the freshman congressman handing out the pizza.

“The men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our liberties deserve to be treated with honor, dignity, and respect. We rest easy at night knowing that they stand guard at the door of Democracy,” Cawthorn added in a statement to Newsweek, “Last night, I heard that our National Guard troops had been relegated to the underbelly of the peoples’ house. I instantly called my staff, ordered as many pizzas as we could carry, and we headed out to thank them for their service.”

Similar offers have also been made by Reps. Jody Hice, Tony Gonzales, Barry Moore, Maria Elvira Salazar and Senators Joni Ernst, Jeff Merkley, Kyrsten Sinema, Maggie Hassan, Mark Kelly and Tammy Duckworth, and several others.

Members of the National Guard walk around the U.S. Capitol Rotunda during a tour hosted by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) on January 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. News broke on Thursday that members of the National Guard have been forced to sleep in parking garages on Capitol Hill. Sarah Silbiger/Getty

The outpouring of support from the different lawmakers comes after the National Guardsmen said in a statement they were asked to stop using spaces in the Capitol Building as a resting place while on patrol, as had been documented when members first arrived to D.C. following the riot.

“As Congress is in session and increased foot traffic and business is being conducted, Capitol Police asked the troops to move their rest area. They were temporarily relocated to the Thurgood Marshall Judicial Center garage with heat and restroom facilities,” the National Guard told CNN in a statement Thursday.

However, Acting U.S. Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman released a statement disputing that the Guard were asked to leave the federal building, “I want to assure everyone that, with the exception of specific times on Inauguration Day itself while the swearing-in ceremonies were underway, the United States Capitol police did not instruct the National Guard to vacate the Capitol Building facilities.”

“As of this morning, all Guardsmen and women have been relocated to space within the Capitol Complex. The Department is also working with the Guard to reduce the need for sleeping accommodations by establishing shorter shifts, and will ensure they have access to the comfortable accommodations they absolutely deserve when the need arises,” the statement added.

Many of the lawmakers that offered their offices up as resting spaces expressed appreciation that the situation was rectified.

“Good news to report. The situation is being remedied: Guard members are getting decent accommodations back in the Capitol complex for break time—like they deserve. Thank you to the men and women protecting our Capitol!” Merkley wrote in a tweet.

Similarly, Duckworth wrote in a tweet “Update: Troops are now all out of the garage. Now I can go to bed.”

Newsweek reached out to the National Guard for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

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