Why Gov. Kim Reynolds turned down previous request to send National Guard to D.C.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — One hundred and twenty members of the Iowa National Guard are leaving Friday for Washington, D.C., where they will assist with security measures and America 250 celebrations at the request of the Trump administration.

Reynolds initially said no

Gov. Kim Reynolds said she had previously declined the Trump administration’s request, citing the strain of one of the state’s largest recent deployments.

“They asked earlier, and I said no because we had one of the largest deployments that we’ve had for a long, long time and I just felt that we were stretched pretty thin,” Reynolds said.

Nearly 2,000 Iowa National Guard members had spent a year or more deployed to the Middle East. Those soldiers have since returned home.

Guard members now available following Middle East return

With those troops back, Reynolds said Iowa was in a position to fulfill the president’s request.

“We have them all back. They circled back, especially with everything that’s going on with the 250th uh birthday uh of our country. And so we were able to participate and do our share,” Reynolds said.

Different states have sent National Guard members to Washington, D.C., since last August.

Reynolds said the federal government will pay the costs of Iowa’s deployment to Washington, D.C.