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SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mike Lee called the Washington, D.C. mayor’s decision to evict Utah National Guard soldiers from their hotel just after after coming off duty protecting the city from civil unrest “shameful.”
The 200 Utah soldiers deployed to Washington on short notice earlier this week had finished their night shift at 3 a.m. Friday. They were forced out of their hotel by 11 a.m. They have another shift Friday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday morning, the Utah Republican said.
“Evicting Utah National Guard personnel from their hotels after a late-night shift risking their lives to protect Washington is a shameful, petty, discrediting decision by Mayor (Muriel) Bowser,” Lee said.
Gov. Gary Herbert sent 200 Utah National Guard troops to Washington on Monday at the request of President Donald Trump to support local authorities dealing with protests over the killing of George Floyd. The death of Floyd while in police custody in Minnesota has sparked sometimes violent demonstrations throughout the country, including Salt Lake City where the National Guard also is deployed.
Bowser said at a news conference Thursday that she wants out-of-state military troops out of the nation’s capital.
In an initial statement Friday morning, the Utah National Guard said the housing situation had not been resolved.
“Last night, we were informed that our service members would be relocated from their hotel rooms,” the statement said.
“The District of Columbia’s National Guard is working diligently to resolve the matter. The Utah National Guard is in the area to help. We are committed to supporting our partners and serving our fellow Americans for as long as we are needed.”
Later Friday, the Guard released another statement saying the D.C. National Guard had found a new hotel and the soldiers would be relocated.
Lee called the Utah troops “consummate professionals’ who aren’t “complaining in the slightest.”
These brave men and women have risked their lives protecting DC for three days. Rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared bc these soldiers served. And now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor. This must be stopped. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/YYyctKvUqN
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 5, 2020
“But their labor and sacrifice on behalf of Washingtonians deserves better than this embarrassing spectacle. If Mayor Bowser has a problem with President Trump she should take it up with him, not take it out on National Guard personnel in the middle of a dangerous deployment in her city,” he said.
Lee first called attention to the situation on Twitter late Thursday, saying Bowser planned to evict soldiers from Utah and other state from their hotels.
“Just heard that Mayor Bowser is kicking the Utah National Guard out of all DC hotels tomorrow. More than 1,200 troops from 10 states are being evicted. This is unacceptable,” he said.
“These brave men and women have risked their lives protecting DC for three days. Rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared bc these soldiers served. And now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor. This must be stopped.”
Lee later appeared on Fox News @ Night where he said he expects Bowser’s office to issue an apology and a retraction.
“Don’t do that to our troops,” he said. “That’s not cool.”
Lee said he learned that that the mayor’s office had ended the Guard’s contract with the Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Washington where soldiers have been staying.
“They’ll have to go gather their things and go find another place to stay because the mayor’s office canceled their contract. That’s not right,” he said on Fox News.
Last night, I thanked members of the @UTNationalGuard deployed to protect the nation’s capital. When the nation needs help, Utahns answer the call. I am grateful to these dedicated soldiers for helping preserve the peace and protect life and property during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/MA3ANiSCxp
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) June 4, 2020
Lee said he’s never seen a situation in the middle of an assignment, especially a military deployment, where there was some kind of contracting mistake that results in 200 highly trained military specialists having to go find someplace else to stay.
“The latest we’re getting is they may have to sleep on cots at the D.C. armory, which, fine, wherever, these people are professionals. They’re willing to do whatever they’ve got to do,” he said.
Lee said soldiers are in Washington to protect the White House and Lafayette Park just outside the White House.
Lee and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, met with the Utah soldiers at the hotel on Wednesday and thanked them for their service.
