Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday he still doesn't know why he couldn't get rapid approval to send his state's National Guard to the Capitol amid Wednesday's insurrection.
"All I know is that we were trying to get answers and we weren't getting answers. It could have been just the fog of what's going on," Hogan, a Republican, told host Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union."
"I was getting called from the leaders of Congress pleading with me to get our Guard into the city," said Hogan of the attack, which left five people dead and disrupted the certification of President-elect Joe Biden. Hogan said it took three hours to get approval to send Maryland's forces.
State governors control their own National Guard units, as well as accept or reject the use of out-of-state units within their borders. The District of Columbia, however, has no governor, so it must rely on approval and instructions from the Pentagon.
"Our Guard mobilized and was ready but we couldn't actually cross over the border into D.C.," Hogan said. "Without the OK. It took some time, we had to run it up the flag pole, our generals talking to the Washington generals. We had been mobilizing. We had our police there, we had our Guard mobilized and we were just waiting for that call."
According to a timeline released by the Defense Department, the Capitol was ordered evacuated around 1 p.m. Hogan ordered a full mobilization of Maryland Guard forces at 3:47, and at 4:18, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller gave the go-ahead for out-of-state units to be prepared to deploy. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Hogan spoke at 4:40, and the troops were expected to arrive the next day.
A statement sent on behalf of the Army on Friday noted that the Maryland National Guard troops arrived in D.C. on Thursday at 10 a.m. "These are folks that are doing something else," Hogan told Tapper by way of explanation, "and they have to pack their bags, get their uniforms, show at the armories. We were the very first ones to arrive in the city."
Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon's top spokesperson, declined to comment on Hogan's accusations.
Hogan, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, excoriated him for his role in Wednesday's rioting.
"There is no question in my mind that he was, he was responsible for inciting this riotous mob," Hogan said. "That this was an insurrection. You know, they stormed the Capitol, and threatened to kill the vice president and put the lives of people in danger. And he had a huge part, a huge role to play in that."
Lara Seligman contributed to this report.
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Maryland's governor still baffled by delay in approval for National Guard help - POLITICO
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