The day is finally here. For the first time in his presidency, President Joe Biden will stand in front of the American people and give the State of the Union Address. Since stepping in the White House, the Biden administration has faced mounting pressure surrounding the economy, the Southern border, Afghanistan, and COVID-19. Not to mention, President Biden has escaped to his private residence in Delaware as Ukraine was invaded by Russia. With Americans wanting answers, tensions in Washington have led to not only security fences being put in place around Capitol Hill, but Biden requested the National Guard be on hand.

According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, President Biden sent out a request to Governors to deploy the National Guard to D.C. for extra security measures. While a direct request from the President, DeSantis announced that he would not be sending members of the National Guard. He tweeted, “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”.

Although DeSantis rejected the request, according to NBC close to 700 National Guard troops have been activated. “The other 300 Guard personnel are from outside D.C. and have also been approved upon requests from U.S. Capitol Police. Such personnel include approximately 100 Vermont Army National Guard Soldiers, 100 New Jersey National Guard troops and about 80 West Virginia National Guard members who will support security operations within Washington starting later this week.”

Along with Biden’s State of the Union Address, reports of a Freedom Convoy making its way to D.C. have been circulating. While some believe this to be nothing more than baseless claims, the Capitol Police released a statement saying, “Law enforcement agencies across the National Capital Region are aware of plans for a series of truck convoys arriving in Washington, DC around the time of the State of the Union. As with any demonstration, the USCP will facilitate lawful First Amendment activity.”

This piece was written by Jeremy Porter on March 1, 2022. It originally appeared in DrewBerquist.com and is used by permission.

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