The acting chief of the US Capitol Police department acknowledged command and intelligence failures the day insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, but dodged questions from lawmakers trying to understand how the request for an increased budget would address those failures.
Leaders of the department responsible for protecting Capitol Hill and federal legislators reevaluated their funding needs in the wake of the insurrection and asked for a 21% increase over last year’s funding, from $512 million to $619 million. Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman, who took over the department after her predecessor resigned, testified before one of the US House of Representatives committees that oversees the police force on Wednesday morning. Other than her testimony, Pittman hasn’t provided information about the day’s events or changes to departmental operations in the two months since the attack. She’s held no press conferences. She also testified to a need for money to fund, among other things, an increase in the number of officers available to work as “dignitary protection” and in analyzing intelligence. During an exchange with Rep. Dan Newhouse, Pittman acknowledged “command and control” and the department’s internal intelligence sharing process both failed on the day of the insurrection but did not say why. “I want to make sure we have confidence that we’re just not throwing dollars at the problem that we truly are addressing the, the tough questions that we need to in order to be better prepared into the future,” Newhouse, a Washington Republican, said. “I’m not convinced that January 6 happened because of life lifecycle replacement issues or because of software maintenance agreements and, and those kinds of things.” “Our goal and focus has been to strengthen our intelligence capabilities,” Pittman responded. “Tell me then how the budget request addresses that in the breakdown in command but that’s what I’m getting at, just so simple, boil it down,” Newhouse asked later.
