Washington D.C. (September 25, 2024) | This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Chairman of the House Administration Committee's Oversight Subcommittee, held time on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he highlighted the flaws within the DoD IG's report of the events of January 6, 2021.

TOP TAKEAWAYS:

President Trump ordered Senior DoD leaders to "make sure it was safe," a directive which they ignored.

In newly obtained DoD IG transcripts, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, specifically recalled a conversation between the Acting Secretary of Defense, Chris Miller, and President Trump, where the President gave directives for them to ENSURE they had “sufficient National Guard or Active duty soldiers to make it a safe event” and to “do whatever you have to do, just make sure it’s safe.”

In turn, President Trump was told by Secretary Miller that they had a plan, and they’ll have it covered. DESPITE this directive from the President, Miller, in his DoD IG interview, dismissed it, stating: “I interpreted it as President Trump banter.”
 
According to D.C. National Guard Commanding General William Walker, had he been present at this meeting, he would have interpreted the President’s directive with greater urgency. And yet, these facts were HIDDEN from the American public for years by this Administration. 
 
The January 6 Select Committee claimed that he wanted the chaos, they pushed that he called for an insurrection, but nothing could be further from the truth. 

DoD Officials were concerned about the "optics" of having soldiers at the Capitol.

Director of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General Walter Piatt later would say: “was optics a concern for us as we prepared to use soldiers downtown in Washington D.C? Absolutely.”

As “optics” concerns were being discussed and Secretary McCarthy claimed he was ‘developing a plan’, the D.C. National Guard was ready to move, less than 2 miles from the Capitol – awaiting Secretary McCarthy’s authorization. During these crucial hours, Secretary McCarthy stated a concept of operations plan or “CONOP” was being developed – yet McCarthy never communicated with the Capitol Police nor D.C. National Guard

What’s more, the National Guard already had a plan. Secretary McCarthy had previously observed rehearsals of the National Guard executing a Civil Disturbance mission. Therefore, McCarthy used this CONOP as a delay tactic as he knew that the D.C. National Guard was prepared to execute this mission.

Over 2 hours were wasted to allegedly develop his “plan,” and to this day, his CONOP has never been produced. Why has no one, including the DoD IG, seen this alleged “plan?” You don’t have to be the Secretary of the Army to see this for what it was: a way to delay the deployment of the National Guard—who was ready and waiting less than two miles from the Capitol.

The DoD IG knew there were inconsistencies in their report, and published it anyways.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy was asked specifically about his actions following Miller’s 3:04pm order by the Select Committee, multiple Senate Committees, and the DoD IG. When asked by the DoD IG in March 2021, Secretary McCarthy stated that one of his staff conveyed the order to deploy to the DC National Guard within minutes of Miller’s verbal order.

The DOD IG report alleged that McCarthy personally conveyed this order to deploy within minutes without explanation or providing evidence to support this assertion. Major General Walker, the DC National Guard Commanding General has consistently refuted that any order was relayed at 3:04pm.

Almost one year later in testimony to the Select Committee, McCarthy testified that he completed his “CONOP” around 4:35pm and called Sec Def Miller and received his approval. In testimony to the Select Committee when asked about the 4:35pm call McCarthy finally admitted that he never directly spoke to Major General Walker at 4:35pm.

Instead, Secretary McCarthy changed his story and told the Select Committee that a member of his staff who “had the authority to speak as the Secretary of the Army” was communicating with the D.C. National Guard on his behalf on January 6. This revision to his previous version of events is significant. The individual McCarthy claimed made this call “on his behalf” testified to the DoD IG that it was Secretary McCarthy who conveyed the order at 4:35pm.
 
Let me pause here. The conflicting testimony raises serious doubts about the actions of numerous senior DoD officials failing to follow direct orders resulting in the delayed deployment of the DC National Guard. The ONLY reason Congress is now aware of these significant conflicting versions of events is because of the courageous DC National Guardsmen who testified in front of my Subcommittee, AND because my Subcommittee forced the DoD IG to produce the witness interviews revealing these conflicting versions of events which I’ve now shared publicly. 

As Secretary McCarthy’s story changed, it started to align with Major General Walker’s testimony. Yet the DoD IG report alleged that General Walker’s congressional testimony was untrue or “mischaracterized” without any evidence to support an allegation that Walker committed perjury.

Whistleblowers alerted to the flaws in the DoD IG report.

In April 2024, members of the National Guard came forward as Whistleblowers to set the record straight. Risking their own careers, these Whistleblowers came forward to ensure the name and reputation of the men and women of the National Guard would not be tarnished. 

The D.C. National Guard is the only military organization within the Department of Defense over which the President of the United States has direct and immediate command authority. The President’s command authority has been delegated to the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Defense has further delegated operational control of the D.C. National Guard to the Secretary of the Army.

On January 6, 2021, the D.C. National Guard reported to the Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy. On January 5, Secretary McCarthy, took it upon himself to place unprecedented restrictions on the D.C. National Guard to prevent any movement to the Capitol without his explicit permission.

This tied the hands of the National Guard and placed sole tactical and operational command of their movements in the hands of McCarthy.

To watch Rep. Loudermilk's full remarks on the U.S. House floor, click here. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) supported several critical pieces of legislation this week to keep the U.S. Government open and operational until December 20, 2024, condemn key Biden-Harris Administration officials responsible for their failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, and hold Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials accountable for their numerous human rights violations, including genocide by imposing new financial and visa sanctions. Top bills are as follows: 

H.R. 9747 – Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 – Rep. Tom Cole (OK-4)

This legislation extends U.S. Government funding at current levels through December 20, 2024, and includes a limited number of necessary extensions.

• Continues government funding at current levels through December 20, 2024, or the enactment of an applicable full-year appropriations act, whichever occurs first.
• Allows for necessary payments to the District of Columbia for planning and security for the 2025 Presidential Inauguration, to the General Services Administration for support of the Presidential transition, to the National Archives and Records Administration for record keeping of the Presidential transition, and to the National Park Service for planning and security for the 2025 Presidential Inauguration.
• Provides an additional $231 million for the Secret Service for protective operations for Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees in the 2024 Campaign and activities related to National Special Security Events and provides the agency with flexibility to quickly obligate funds for protective operations. This additional money will be subject to existing funding caps, rejecting Democrats’ efforts to designate it as emergency spending.

• • Enhances oversight of the Secret Service by:

• • • Requiring the Secret Service Director to submit an expenditure plan and monthly expenditure reports to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
    • Preventing the obligation of additional funding until the Homeland Security Secretary transmits the agency’s internal report to the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump.
    • Requiring the Homeland Security Secretary to respond within 15 days to the Task Forces’ letters sent on August 12 and August 28.
    • Requiring the Secret Service Director to respond to oversight inquiries by the Task Force and Congressional Committees by the time specified in the request.

• Extends the National Flood Insurance Program through the duration of the CR.
• Allows the Department of Health and Human Services to continue providing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits during the duration of the CR.
• Extends programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure our veterans continue to receive the care and benefits they have earned.
• Extends expiring health care programs, including priority review vouchers for rare pediatric diseases, autism support activities, and Medicaid funding for the Northern Mariana Islands. The package is fully offset with a one-year delay to a scheduled change in Medicare payments to clinical laboratories.

H. Res. 1469 – Ensuring accountability for key officials in the Biden-Harris administration responsible for decision making and execution failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghanistan – Rep. Mike McCaul (TX-10)

This resolution resolves that the House of Representatives condemns 15 individuals, including President Biden, Vice President Harris, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, for their role in the Biden-Harris Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and noncombatant evacuation operation, which led to the death of 13 U.S. servicemembers, wounding of 45 U.S. servicemembers,  injury and death of Afghan civilians, abandonment of American civilians and our Afghan allies, and harm to the national security and international stature of the U.S.

• The Biden-Harris Administration was determined to withdraw from Afghanistan, with or without the Doha Agreement, President Trump’s conditional plan to withdraw from Afghanistan which required the Taliban to cease terrorist activities, renounce linkages with al Qaeda, reduce violence, establish a ceasefire, and participate in Afghan-to-Afghan negotiations. The Administration ignored the pleas of the Afghans and objections by our allies who warned that a complete withdrawal of troops would cause the total collapse of the Government of Afghanistan.
• The Biden-Harris Administration prioritized the optics of the withdrawal over the security of U.S. personnel on the ground. They failed to plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation and refused to order such an operation until after the Taliban had already entered Kabul, despite urgent warnings from U.S. military personnel on the ground.
• The Biden-Harris Administration’s chaotic withdrawal, willful refusal to properly plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation, and decision to rely on the Taliban to run checkpoints surrounding the Hamis Karzai International Airport resulted in a terrorist attack by ISIS–K at Abbey Gate that killed 185 people, including 13 United States servicemembers. This marked the deadliest day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2012.
• In addition to the tragic loss of life, the administration left behind approximately 1,000 Americans, $7 billion worth of U.S. weapons, and up to $57 million that could be used by the Taliban and other terrorist regimes.
• The disastrous withdrawal poses a serious threat to U.S. national security, as Afghanistan is one again home to terrorist groups including al Qaeda and ISIS-K.
• Our nation’s most senior leaders, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, failed in their responsibilities on behalf of the people of the United States and must be held accountable for the death and destruction their failures caused.

H.R. 3334 – Sanctioning Tyrannical and Oppressive People within the Chinese Communist Party (STOP CCP) Act – Rep. Lisa McClain (MI-9)

This legislation counters the humanitarian and security threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by ensuring Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who approve, design, or implement policies that cause political oppression and undermine democracy and international security abroad are held accountable.

• The CCP continues to engage in egregious human rights abuses, including genocidal repression and crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups, and poses a serious danger to international security, threatening Taiwan through military provocations and attempts at diplomatic isolation.
• Instead of standing up to the CCP, the Biden-Harris Administration has continually refused to take meaningful action to stop these brazen abuses and the individuals responsible.
• H.R. 3334 will counter the serious threats posed by the Chinese government by forcing the administration to implement financial and visa sanctions. Specially, this legislation:

• • Expresses the sense of Congress that members of the CCP are responsible for violations of Hong Kong’s autonomy, increased aggression against the people of Taiwan, human rights violations against the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan, and acts of repression and genocide against Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
  • Requires the Biden-Harris administration to, within 30 days of enactment, impose full financial blocking and visa sanctions on members of the Central Committee of the CCP, their spouses, and their adult family members who design, approve, or implement policies that:

• • • Restrict the autonomy of Hong Kong;
    • Increase aggression towards the people of Taiwan; or
    • Violate the human rights of or contribute to the political oppression of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities within the PRC.

• • Includes waiver authorities on the basis of U.S. national security interests.
  • Provides that these sanctions may only be relaxed or lifted when the PRC ceases its aggressive behavior towards Taiwan, its political oppression of Hong Kong and ethnic minority groups, or when the sanctioned individual renounces his or her membership in the CCP and takes affirmative steps to denounce or remediate the CCP’s aggressive policies.

In case you missed it, this week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) questioned U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) leadership about the security risks associated with the agency's Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) system during a House Financial Services Committee hearing. 

Commissioners agreed, the SEC's CAT puts Americans' financial data at risk of breach. Rep. Loudermilk implored agency leaders to reduce this risk by removing Americans' personal data from the CAT system, which wouldn’t affect their ability to identify market manipulation via the transaction database.

Click here or below to tune in. 

In case you missed it, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) also asked witnesses about the widely-panned Basel III Endgame bank capital proposal, and how substantial disagreements over the final proposal could delay other controversial banking proposals.  

Rep. Loudermilk reiterated his call for financial regulators to withdraw this harmful proposal, which would have wide-reaching effects on Americans’ access to credit.

Click here or below to tune in. 

In case you missed it, this week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Glenn Beck on his radio program to review newly released testimony from the DoD IG showing President Trump on record calling for the National Guard to be deployed on January 6th. 

Rep. Loudermilk discussed how this new evidence demonstrates that senior Pentagon officials purposefully delayed that request. 

Click here or below to see the full interview. 

In case you missed it, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) sat down with John Solomon and Amanda Head on Just the News, No Noise to discuss the latest updates in his investigation into the events of January 6th.

Rep. Loudermilk called to hold Pentagon officials accountable for not complying with former President Donald Trump’s order to deploy National Guard or active-duty troops days before the events of that day. He also discussed his intention to bring forward a House resolution laying out all the evidence contradicting the Democrat-led former Select Committee's report. Lastly, he explained why he will wait until the 119th Congress to bring forward criminal referrals. 

Click here or below to tune in. 

In case you missed it, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) also recently sat down with One America News' John Hines to discuss his investigation into the events of January 6th, and how DoD IG transcripts show that the Pentagon was more concerned with optics rather than sending the National Guard to the Capitol for public safety. 

Click here for part one of the interview. 

Click here for part two of the interview. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Chairman Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and House Financial Services Committee Republicans on a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler demanding the agency rescind its disastrous Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121. 

Following bipartisan votes to overturn SAB 121 in both the House and Senate, Republicans are calling on Chair Gensler to rescind the agency guidance which upends custody rules for digital assets, weakens consumer protections, and stifles financial innovation.

Read the full text of the letter here. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Reps. Mark Alford (MO-4), Ashely Hinson (IA-2), Mary Miller (IL-15) and Jen Kiggans (VA-2) in a House Republican Conference wide letter to 

House GOP Leadership reaffirming their commitment to advancing a farm bill that meets the needs of production agriculture and rural America.

The letter, signed by 140 Members, emphasized the importance of the Farm Bill and noted that farmers, ranchers, and producers are still living under outdated policies from the 2018 Farm Bill.

“Farmers and ranchers do not have the luxury of waiting until next Congress for the enactment of an effective farm bill,” said the Members. “Inflation has driven production costs to the highest on record. Meanwhile, commodity prices across the board have fallen precipitously, creating a severe margin squeeze on farm and ranch families ... Farm debt, $540 billion, is the highest ever, both nominally and wen adjusted for inflation. These factors show no signs of abating for all major commodities.”

“The 118th Congress has an opportunity to do right by producers, other agriculture stakeholders, rural communities, and taxpayers by putting more ‘farm’ back in the farm bill and by making responsible reforms and investments across all 12 titles, and the bipartisan H.R. 8467—The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, which was advanced by the House Committee on Agriculture on May 24th of this year, does just that,” the Members continued.

The Members highlighted the negative impacts of failing to act, noting that the consequences will extend beyond the farm gate — hitting Main Street businesses, rural communities, and the national economy. 

“We respectfully urge that the enactment of H.R. 8467, or similar legislation that makes meaningful investments in farmers, ranchers, and rural communities, is among the top priorities of the Republican Conference and that this be considered a ‘must-pass’ item in the lame duck session of the 118th Congress,” the Members concluded.

BACKGROUND

The Farm Bill is omnibus legislation that establishes policies affecting all sectors of the agriculture industry for a five-year period. The most recent legislation, which was passed in 2018 and extended in 2023, expires this year.

On May 24, 2024, the House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 to reauthorize the Farm Bill. The legislation supports producers and puts more “farm” back in the farm bill and makes responsible reforms and investments across all 12 titles.

Read the full text of the letter here. 

Just the News: 

Then-President Donald Trump gave clear instructions to Pentagon brass days before the Jan. 6 riots to “do whatever it takes” to keep the U.S. Capitol safe, including deploying National Guard or active-duty troops, but top officials did not comply because of political concerns, according to transcripts of bombshell interviews conducted by the Defense Department's chief watchdog that shine new light on government disfunction ahead of the historic tragedy

Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, confirmed to the Pentagon inspector general three years ago that during a Jan. 3, 2021, Oval Office meeting Trump pre-approved the use of National Guard or active duty troops to keep peace in the nation’s capital on the day Congress was to certify the results of the 2020 election.

Milley's interviews were among several key to transcripts obtained by House Administration Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., and shared with Just the News.

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