On Wednesday, the nation watched dumbfounded and appalled — frustrated, but not surprised — as a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol and mounted a violent insurrection. The coup attempt stopped a joint session of Congress that was supposed to finalize the election of President-elect Joe Biden.
If ever there was a moment to call in the National Guard, this seemed to be it.
Yet, for that to happen, D.C. had to get approval from the U.S. Department of Defense. It was initially denied, according to the D.C. Council, while governors from Virginia and Maryland both acted to deploy their units. The U.S. Army did eventually approve the 1,100-troop deployment, and its secretary and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke together. But the delay in a true crisis and the fact that the task ultimately fell to the military rather than D.C. underlined the District’s unique place not as a state, but a city with heavy federal presence between two states. A sort of federal-local entity.
In a crisis, it was a reminder that things could be different — if D.C. were a state.