Jim Inhofe: “since last week, there have been over 20,000 members of the National Guard stationed here at the Capitol. They are…”

“since last week, there have been over 20,000 members of the National Guard stationed here at the Capitol. They are here--and have been here and are still here--to keep us safe, keep the Members safe, Senators safe, staff, press--all of us. It seems that people are speculating that maybe this was overkill, maybe we didn't really need this many people here. They are wrong. This was a nice, successful inauguration and successful, peaceful transfer of power because they were there. I made that very clear to the ones I have been talking to in the field over the last 3 days. I know, firsthand, that they are really outstanding professionals, these guards. We have about 400 guards here from the Oklahoma National Guard. I visited with them--I guess it was on Wednesday--in five different groups. I went around and talked to them because they weren't all in the same location, and we thanked them for the service and the sacrifices they are making. Long hours. These guys are having long hours. They are the best of the best. The many I saw did deployments in Afghanistan. When I was talking to them, they would remember, and say: Well, Senator Inhofe, I remember we were together in Afghanistan; we were together in Ukraine. These guys--that was 10 years ago, and they are still on the job working. I don't know what we could have done without them.…”