Biden Administration Considering Deploying National Guard for Supply Crisis

During a town hall event last night, President Biden said he’s considering deploying the National Guard to help ease the stress on the U.S. supply chain. The President said he would specifically consider calling up members for trucking to help solve a shortage of drivers saying quote ‘if we can’t move– increase the number of truckers, which we are in a process of doing.’ Shortly after the town hall, a White House official said the administration is not actively considering deploying the guard despite Biden’s comments and added “requesting the use of the National Guard at the state level is under the purview of governors and we are not actively pursuing the use of the National Guard on a federal level.”

In the last few weeks business groups have urged the Biden administration to consider out of the box ideas to address the supply chain issue which is slowing shipments, raising costs and leaving some store shelves empty. Many economists as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg say that the supply chain problems are showing no sign of slowing and could last into next year.