Veterans, ex-spies in Congress prominent in fraught week on Capitol Hill – By John M. Donnelly and Mark Satter (Roll Call) / January 13 2021
They spoke of their oath to protect and defend the Constitution, in the military and in Congress alike
A bipartisan group of young lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds has been in the forefront of the congressional response to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and the cadre played a central role since then in the second impeachment of President Donald Trump.
The group, which draws mostly from the Armed Services Committee, protected their fellow lawmakers during the attack. They also used military expertise to detect what they said were unnamed lawmakers who had possibly helped rioters plan their attack the day before.
They spoke of their oath to protect and defend the Constitution, in the military and in Congress alike, as they implored their colleagues to impeach Trump for his role in instigating the mob.
To be sure, all but 10 Republicans in the House, many of them military veterans as well, disagreed with the young cadre and voted not to impeach the president.
