Ron DeSantis Denies Request for Florida National Guard to Assist at Biden’s SOTU Address

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday announced that he has denied a request for the state’s National Guard to deploy to the nation’s capital for President Biden’s Tuesday State of the Union address, ensuring that the Florida National Guard will not be sent to Washington, DC.

The Biden administration last week requested assistance from state National Guards ahead of Tuesday’s speech. The request coincides with hundreds of National Guard members being activated in the D.C. area ahead of the address to assist with traffic and security. Florida’s National Guard, however, will not participate.

“Last week, the Biden Administration requested the assistance of State National Guards to deploy to Washington D.C. I have rejected this request — there will be no @FLGuard sent to D.C. for Biden’s State of the Union,” DeSantis announced Monday.

Last week, the Biden Administration requested the assistance of State National Guards to deploy to Washington D.C. I have rejected this request — there will be no @FLGuard sent to D.C. for Biden’s State of the Union.

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 28, 2022

👏👏👏 https://t.co/vPFJjBf5xI

— Christina Pushaw #BuckTheCDC 🐊🚛 (@ChristinaPushaw) February 28, 2022

The Republican governor provided no further details on his denial of the request.

Biden is expected to deliver the SOTU address Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern. Conveniently, the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives had a sudden change of heart two days before his speech, lifting the chamber’s long-held mask requirement before the televised event. The move comes as polls show the American people souring on the left’s handling of the Chinese coronavirus after a year of extended mask mandates and vaccine requirements under Biden, apparently triggering the sudden “epiphany” ahead of the midterm elections.