Security officials will shrink the wall near the U.S. Capitol

Washington (Associated Press)-Driven by a powerful bipartisan, security officials said that since the mob attacked the building on January 6, they will soon reduce the fence surrounding the U.S. Capitol and cut off the entire area. Pedestrians and vehicles pass.
Acting House Sergeant Chief Timothy Blodgett (Timothy Blodgett) said in a memorandum to members of Congress on Monday that, under the guidance of the U.S. Capitol Police, “the fence will be reduced in two stages,” and “there is no known , A credible threat" to ensure that temporary barriers are kept in place.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, stated in Blodgett's announcement to Congress that the Congressional police "will continue to monitor the threat situation and adjust plans as needed."
While protecting members of Congress from opening up to tourists, how to protect legislators has become one of the more difficult issues in deadly riots. Legislators on both sides condemned such fences as ugly, expensive, and beyond necessary, even though security concerns remain high.
Members of Congress described their daily anxiety about what feels like a war zone, with checkpoints and National Guard soldiers surrounded by perimeter fences. They said that no tourists captured photos of the Capitol dome or voters meeting with representatives. This is a restriction on the coronavirus and it is an emotional loss. Through the surrounding parks and office buildings, the security range extends far beyond the Capitol itself.
Lawmakers are still debating whether to set up a bipartisan committee to study the massive security failures that occurred on January 6 and how to deal with these failures in the long term. Pelosi issued a draft committee proposal on Monday. The Republican Party rejected the committee last month. He wrote in a letter to his colleagues: "We must understand the truth about how the January 6th attack happened. We It must be ensured that it does not happen again."
Five people were killed after protesters stormed the building to try to prevent Congress from proving that Democrat Joe Biden elected Republican Donald Trump. Trump was condemned by the House of Representatives for inciting a mob, and then acquitted by the Senate.
Blodget said that the outer wall will be demolished in late March. Independence and Constitution Avenue, the two main passages on both sides of the Capitol, will be opened to the public.
It will move closer to the Capitol this week to provide reopening of nearby streets and some sidewalks. The razor wire at the top of the fence will also be removed.
The political pressure to remove the security fence is increasing. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Mitch McConnell) of Kentucky compared it to a combat zone in Afghanistan, saying "we are overreacting." The second Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, called it "terrible."
On Monday, Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, the top Republican on the Senate Rules Committee, praised the decision to cut the fence. "If I decide by myself, I will go further," Blunt said. "I think our next question is extremely unlikely to be a copy of the previous question."
Blunt said that the fence costs taxpayers $1.9 million a week, and the National Guard to protect the Capitol has cost more than $500 million since January 6.
Last week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved a request from the Congressional Police to extend the deployment of nearly 2,300 guards for another two months because of possible threats of violence.
For now, the troops will remain in place, but Blodget said that it is expected that the guards "will begin to reduce their posture in the Capitol in the next few weeks."
Leaders said they are trying to find the right balance. Pelosi said on Sunday: "You must ensure that you are safe enough so that those who are motivated by false statements do not think that they have an open season in the U.S. Capitol."
Pelosi said: "I have been saying, let's see what we can do with the least fence, but this is another safety decision."
In a letter from Zhou Tongyi's colleagues, Pelosi reiterated that Congress will pass emergency security funds in the next few weeks. Pelosi commissioned the retired Army Lieutenant General Russel Honoré to lead a comprehensive security review after the riots. Pelosi recommended a series of steps that require new funding, including mobile fences and "integrated security systems." Telescopic fence system" is deployed as needed.
As Congress is looking for a way forward, it is not clear whether legislators will be able to reach consensus on the parameters of the bipartisan committee to study security vulnerabilities. Since Trump's supporters besieged the building more than two months ago, the tensions between the parties have remained primitive and even worsened.
Since Pelosi proposed last month to create an 11-member institution consisting of four Republicans and seven Democrats, three of whom will be elected by President Joe Biden, the committee’s ideas thereafter Just put it aside.
McConnell and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy subsequently stated that a legitimate committee would consist of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, similar to a group that studied the failure of the 9/11 attacks. They also opposed language that allowed the committee to study the factors that led to the siege of the Capitol.


Post time: Mar-17-2021