National Guard leaders maintain their outfit is a "non-partisan entity" even after a contingent of uniformed members from Guam were filmed marching to the office of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., after a weeks-old political gaffe, in an incident Greene slammed as "political theater."
The Guam National Guard's visit on Monday came two weeks after the freshman congresswoman appeared to mistakenly refer to Guam, a United States territory, as a foreign country. The Washington Examiner pointed out that during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February, Greene said: "We believe our hard-earned tax dollars should just go for America, not, for what? China, Russia, the Middle East, Guam, whatever, wherever."
The Hill tweeted video of the Guard members, led by Guam’s congressional delegate Michael San Nicolas, at Greene’s office. San Nicolas had promised last week to bring cookies to Greene’s office as a result of the blunder, the Examiner noted.
Before the visit to her office, San Nicolas told The Guam Daily Post: "Congresswoman Greene is a new member, and we will be paying a visit to her and delivering delicious Chamorro Chip Cookies as part of our ongoing outreach to new members to introduce them to our wonderful island of Guam."
Though Greene wasn't present for the encounter, she blasted the move on Tuesday morning as a stunt and used the opportunity to draw attention to the controversial topic of the National Guard troops who are still securing the U.S. Capitol complex.
"It’s time for our great men and women of the National Guard to go home and be with their families," Greene tweeted. "The Democrats need to stop using them as political theater and drama on Capitol Hill. Shame on Democrats for disrespecting our military."
Maj. Gen. Esther J.C. Aguigui, adjutant general of the Guam National Guard, defended the visit and maintained the unit is a "non-partisan entity," according to the Military Times.
"We appreciate Congressman San Nicolas’ efforts to represent our culture of Inafa’ Maolek, or bringing harmony, practiced here in Guam," her statement said. "We also thank Congresswoman Greene for ultimately helping raise awareness of Guamanians as citizens of the United States, and our rich tradition of service and sacrifice to our nation."
Though the intent behind the visit became a topic of debate, the initial encounter between the National Guard and Greene's aides was captured on video as a pleasant exchange.
"Thank you guys so much for all that you do," one of her aides said. "We really appreciate it. Thank you guys for keeping us safe."
Greene has been a lightning rod during her brief time in Congress. In early February, the House tossed Greene off both her committee assignments, a move Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories.
"I'm fine with being kicked off my committees because it would have been a waste of my time," Greene during an extensive press conference on Capitol Hill. "I'm a very hard worker and I'm proud of it. So now I have a lot of free time on my hands, which means I can talk to a whole lot more people all over this country and I can talk to more people and make connections and build a huge amount of support that I've already got started from people that want to put America first."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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