I thought 25,000 troops for the inauguration was definitely overkill. After the brouhaha that happened on the 6th, I was pretty sure that almost no one would show up and make a scene. I was right on that point, but Portland and Seattle had their own issues.

Now the National Guard is being asked to stay through Jan 30th and provide security for the joint session of congress.  They were  at first banished to a parking garage, but after the outcry, they were invited back to the capitol.

Once again  though, I think that this is going to be a low key event. President Biden has problems drawing crowds even to virtual events, let alone having people show up in person. So I am left to wonder why the guard is there at all. Are they meant to be the replacement of an actual crowd that wants to be there? Or are they to be used as the reason that a crowd didn’t show up spontaneously?