During an Oct. 21 town hall meeting hosted by CNN, President Biden was asked whether the federal government would send the National Guard to help ease the supply chain backlog. He answered that he was “absolutely” willing to consider that option.
“Yes, absolutely, positively, I would do that,” Biden declared. “The answer is yes, if we can’t move to increase the number of truckers, which we’re in the process of doing.”
WATCH: SPEAKER JOHNSON CALLS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT TO RESIGN
The White House then clarified that if the National Guard does step in to mitigate supply chain issues, it will be a decision made by individual states.
“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,” the White House noted in a statement.
WATCH GREAT ANALYSIS: THE ABSURDITY OF ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS
Governors in some states are considering or have called in the National Guard to ease labor shortages. In September, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker assigned some 250 Guard members to take driving duties in school districts reporting severe shortages in school bus drivers, in part due to the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public employees.
A CRYING SHAME: PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS FORCE USC TO CANCEL PRIMARY GRADUATION EVENT
“Once it became pretty clear that there were going to be some communities shorthanded—it wasn’t going to be a vehicle issue, it was going to be people with [commercial driver’s licenses]—we started talking to the Guard,” Baker said.
REPUBLICAN SENATORS EXPOSE DARK SIDE OF 'FOOD DELIVERY' ECONOMICS
While many Guard members do have commercial drivers licenses, governors who wish to deploy the troops to help with supply chain issues would have to avoid pulling the troops away from roles they already have in the supply chain, as they might already be using the transportation skill for their civilian jobs.
SEE TO BELIEVE: COMING SOON TO A KID'S DRAG SHOW NEAR YOU...(WATCH)
If the deployment did happen, it would likely be in states with some of the nation’s busiest ports. In California, Long Beach and Los Angeles ports are dealing with unprecedented supply chain bottlenecks, with more than 100 container ships waiting to get in.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S CONVICTION OVERTURNED IN NEW YORK! WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE DISGRACED MOVIE MOGUL?
“Shop early because these delays and bottlenecks are going to continue to the end of the year,” Mario Cordero, the executive director for Port of Long Beach, told Bloomberg News. “Hopefully, we’ll have some strong mitigating factors.”
MSNBC'S CHRIS HAYES DELETED TWEET SPARKS A SH*T SHOW
Meanwhile, some 27 ships are waiting at anchor at Georgia's Port of Savannah as of Oct. 24, according to the port authority’s website. In the fiscal year 2020, the Port of Savannah handled over 9 percent of total U.S. container cargo volume and nearly 11 percent of all U.S. container exports.
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
