Fact check: Who had authority to approve National Guard deployment during January 6th events?

1. Summary of the results

The authority to approve National Guard deployment during January 6th involved a complex chain of command. Only three positions had direct authority to activate the D.C. National Guard: the President, the Defense Secretary, and the Army Secretary ^[1]. On January 5th, Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy implemented unprecedented restrictions requiring his explicit permission for any Guard movement ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual elements emerge from the analyses:

• Pre-January 6th Planning: Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg claims that Trump requested National Guard troops on January 3rd, asking the Defense Department to prepare for January 6th contingencies ^[3]. However, this account is disputed by other sources ^[3].
• Deployment Timeline Disputes:
• The D.C. National Guard was reportedly ready to deploy by 3 PM on January 6th but was delayed by Pentagon officials citing "optics" concerns ^[4]
• Acting Defense Secretary Miller approved full activation at 3:04 PM ^[1]
• Secretary McCarthy's testimony about the deployment order timing conflicts with Major General Walker's account ^[2]
• Command Structure: The President's command authority is typically delegated through the Secretary of Defense, who then delegates operational control to the Secretary of the Army ^[2]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

Several important clarifications need to be made regarding common misconceptions:

• Congressional Authority: Contrary to some claims, no member of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, had any authority to activate the D.C. National Guard ^[5]
• Conflicting Narratives: There are competing interests in how this story is told:
• The New York Times reported that Vice President Pence, not President Trump, may have actually approved the deployment ^[1]
• The House select committee concluded that official records showed Trump did not order the Guard deployment on January 6th ^[5]
• Pentagon officials' concerns about "optics" influenced deployment timing ^[4]

These conflicting accounts serve different political narratives about responsibility and decision-making during the January 6th events, with various stakeholders potentially benefiting from their preferred version of events being accepted as the official narrative.