Biden says he’s considering deploying the National Guard to ease supply chain crisis
A White House official, however, told CNN shortly after that the administration is not actively considering deploying the National Guard despite Biden’s comments. “Requesting the use of the National Guard at the state level is under the purview of governors and we are not actively pursuing the use of the National Guard on a federal level,” the official said.
While Biden has directed the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to move to 24/7 operations, the ports can’t yet work round the clock because importers don’t have enough drivers to move their cargo at all hours.
Asked on Tuesday whether the White House would consider bringing in the National Guard or Navy to help unload cargo stacked up at ports or drive trucks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I’m not here to take options off the table.”
Asked Thursday if he had a timetable for potentially activating the National Guard, Biden said, “First of all, I want to get the ports up and running and get the railroads and the railheads and the trucks in port ready to move because I’ve gotten Walmart and others to say we’re going to move stuff off of the port into our warehouses.”
