Frep. Michelle McCane Criticizes OK Nat’l Guard Deployment to D.C.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has sent Oklahoma National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., just months after criticizing President Donald Trump’s practice of sending National Guard troops into other states to assist law enforcement.
Oklahoma State Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa, blasted Stitt for sending more than 160 members of the Oklahoma National Guard to Washington, D.C. last week, after publicly stating in August that he had no plans to do so.
On Dec. 1, Stitt authorized Oklahoma National Guard members to volunteer for a 90-day trip to the nation’s Capital. Stitt’s office noted that the 90-day mission is voluntary, and the federal government will pick up the tab for the deployment, which typically costs roughly $1,000-$2,000 per day, per person deployed – which could quickly add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the length of the mission and how many troops are deployed. The Oklahoma National Guard current has about 10,000 members, combining roughly 7,500 in the Army National Guard and 2,500 in the Air National Guard.
In an October interview with The New York Times, Stitt said “Oklahomans would lose their mind if [Gov. JB] Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration,” as he criticized the deployment of national guard troops across state lines to cities such as Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
Stitt, who was elected chair of the National Governors Association in July, told the New York Times that National Guard deployment is a states’ rights issue.
On Monday, Stitt’s office noted that Oklahoma troops have not been deployed to another state; Washington D.C. is not a state but the federal District of Columbia, a district which falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Rep. McCane called Stitt’s statements “disingenuous.”
“It is disingenuous of the Governor to claim he would not send the Oklahoma National Guard to D.C. and then change his mind months later without reason,” said McCane. “It is unnecessary and only ends up costing Oklahomans. Oklahoma was not directly asked to send troops to D.C. This decision by the Governor is solely to appease the Trump administration and does not serve Oklahomans.
“We have issues in the State of Oklahoma that could use the help of our troops,” McCane continued. “There is no specific reason given by the Governor to send our troops to D.C. now. This is a waste of taxpayer dollars.”