The Trump administration is extending the federal deployment of over 40,000 National Guard troops aiding coronavirus relief efforts, reversing plans for an earlier cutoff following bipartisan backlash and pressure from top defense officials.
The federal government will now keep funding National Guard troops in nearly the entire country through mid-August, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday. The administration was previously planning to terminate the deployment on June 24 — one day before thousands of Guard members would have qualified for key retirement and education benefits.
Trump emergency management officials were aware that the earlier termination would have deprived many Guard members the opportunity for those benefits, POLITICO first reported last week. On a May 12 interagency call, a recording of which was obtained by POLITICO, they also acknowledged that cutting off federal support would be a blow to nearly all the states and territories that currently depend on the Guard to help contain new virus hotspots as their economies reopen. Guard troops have been assisting understaffed public health agencies with testing, contact tracing and other health services.
Some lawmakers have questioned whether the original June 24 cutoff was intentionally aimed at depriving troops of federal benefits, which become available after 90 days of service for a federal emergency. Even if states are able to continue the deployments at great cost, that service time would not count toward federal benefits.
Following POLITICO’s report, a bipartisan group of more than 100 lawmakers urged Trump to extend federal support for the troops, warning that states would struggle to afford the deployments while they’re still trying to contain the virus. Defense Secretary Mark Esper last week endorsed an extension, and National Guard Chief General Joseph Lengyel told POLITICO he had recommended Trump extend the deployment through at least the end of July.
Still, some lawmakers have urged the Trump administration to maintain federal support even longer, warning that virus containment efforts will stretch beyond the summer. A group of 70 House members in a letter last week urged the Trump administration to keep the federal deployment in place for as long as its emergency and disaster declarations are in effect.
“We don’t know how long this pandemic is going to go,” said Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who organized the letter. “Let’s make sure our troops are there when we need them.”
