As an American, I believe that the men and women in our military deserve our utmost respect. And yet, when it comes to these brave soldiers, President Joe Biden began his administration with a disappointing start. After the violence on January 6th, and as the presidential inauguration loomed closer, more and more troops from the National Guard were deployed to Washington in the hopes of keeping the city safe. After the inauguration was over, the troops remained in the city for a while to maintain the peace. While this seemed like a good idea, images of these troops began circulating online. What made these images so disturbing was the fact that they were forced to sleep in a parking garage while on their breaks.

According to Politico, “One unit, which had been resting in the Dirksen Senate Office building, was abruptly told to vacate the facility on Thursday, according to one Guardsman. The group was forced to rest in a nearby parking garage without internet reception, with just one electrical outlet, and one bathroom with two stalls for 5,000 troops, the person said. Temperatures in Washington were in the low 40s by nightfall” (Seligman, Bertrand, and Desiderio). Would you want to sleep in a parking garage? I know I definitely wouldn’t. Also, since all these soldiers were all compacted into one place, there was a concern that many could come down with the Coronavirus. 

These soldiers were there to protect Americans and keep the peace, and they shouldn’t have received such poor treatment. Thankfully, some leaders in Washington were there to help. Representative Madison Cawthorn, a republican and the youngest elected representative from North Carolina, came to help by personally delivering pizzas to these soldiers stuck in the garage.

Cawthorn told Fox News that “[t]he men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our liberties deserve to be treated with honor, dignity, and respect. We rest easy at night knowing that they stand guard at the door of Democracy. No soldier ought to be treated as expendable, or used as a political prop to be cast aside when the cameras leave the room. Last night, I heard that our National Guard troops had been relegated to the underbelly of the peoples’ house. I instantly called my staff, ordered as many pizzas as we could carry, and we headed out to thank them for their service.”

While President Joe Biden did call the chief of the National Guard Bureau to apologize, this was still a concerning start to his presidency. This is not the only item of concern. According to backers of projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was cancelled by the Biden administration, thousands of people lost their jobs. According to NBC news, “Biden has also called for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 — a plan that would include a systematic departure from the use of fossil fuels, which has implications for fracking.” That means that our gas prices could rise upwards of five dollars or more. 

With a country of people suffering economically from the pandemic, we need Biden to step up and do more for those who have lost jobs and for our military. American people cannot afford to wait much longer.