First lady Jill Biden delivered a batch of cookies to members of the National Guard in Washington, DC, on Friday following the series of events Thursday evening that saw troops instructed to leave the U.S. Capitol and wait in a parking garage following a mask-related complaint from a Democrat congressman, although the lawmaker appeared to deny that the relocation of the members originated from his grievance.
“I just wanted to come today to say thank you to all of you for keeping me and my family safe. And I know that you’ve left your home states. The Bidens are a National Guard family,” Biden said, mentioning their late-son Beau Biden, who served in the Delaware Army National Guard.
“So I’m a National Guard mom,” she continued, extending a thank you from her husband, President Biden, and the “entire Biden family.”
“So the White House baked you some chocolate chip cookies. I can’t say that I baked them all myself,” she joked, noting that it serves as a “small” thank you for their service and everything they have done for the country. The National Guard, she added, will “always hold a special place in the heart of the Bidens”:
The first lady’s gesture of gratitude followed a chaotic series of events the previous night, as members of the National Guard were reportedly instructed to leave the U.S. Capitol grounds following an alleged complaint from a Democrat congressman, as Breitbart News reported. Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) reportedly spotted a National Guard member without a mask on in a Dunkin’ Donuts cafe in the Capitol building and said, out loud, that masks are required in federal buildings. The member reportedly responded, “I appreciate my freedom.” National Guard members were reportedly sent from the Capitol building hours later.
On Friday, Keating confirmed the incident in the Capitol cafe but called Breitbart News’s store “baseless,” appearing to suggest that the two events were not connected amid conflicting reports:
Nevertheless, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) subsequently ordered their state’s troops home after photos of members in a parking garage began to surface across social media:
“They’re soldiers. They’re not Nancy Pelosi’s servants,” DeSantis told Fox & Friends Friday morning.
“And this comes on the back end of them trying to investigate the backgrounds of our guardsmen,” DeSantis continued. [In] Florida, we did not let them go into their political beliefs. I thought that was totally inappropriate. I thought it was very disrespectful for people who are clearly patriots.”
“So this is a half-cocked mission at this point and I think the appropriate thing is to bring them home,” he added:
Several lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle expressed outrage over the treatment of the National Guard members and offered their offices to the troops. Five-thousand will remain in D.C. through the middle of March, according to WUSA9.
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