Capitol Police chief to tell Congress of ‘significant improvements’ since Jan. 6

The U.S. Capitol Police chief will tell Congress on Wednesday that while much more work needs to be done, the agency has made “significant improvements” to protect the building in the year since a pro-Trump mob violently clashed with its officers and desecrated the halls of Congress.

“January 6 exposed critical deficiencies with operational planning, intelligence, staffing, and equipment,” Chief J. Tom Manger plans to tell members of the Senate Rules Committee, according to his prepared statement. “I recognize those issues have to be addressed, and that is what we are doing.”

Lawmakers are further examining the events of last year’s attack and keeping pressure on the agency, which is responsible for protecting the Capitol. The Rules Committee issued a bipartisan report with the Senate Homeland Security Committee in June that made recommendations for major reforms by the Capitol Police, from improving training and communication to overhauling intelligence gathering.

Manger is expected to tell senators Wednesday that the agency “has implemented — or is in the process of implementing — each and every one of them.”

Michael Bolton, the inspector general of the Capitol Police, told the committee last month that the police force has not implemented enough necessary changes in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack.

Bolton said that “out of 200 security enhancements the department provided to the inspector general, only 61 of those items have supporting documentation to support that those enhancements have occurred.” He also said the agency had implemented only 30 of the more than 100 recommendations made by his office.

Manger, who took over as chief after the Jan. 6 riot, plans to tell Congress that as of Wednesday, the department has addressed “over 90” of the 103 recommendations issued by Bolton’s office. In his prepared remarks, Manger also says the department is hiring a full-time director for intelligence, one of Bolton’s recommendations.

Congress and President Joe Biden recently gave the Capitol Police chief the authority to directly ask the National Guard and federal law enforcement agencies for help in emergencies. Biden signed a bill last month streamlining the previous process, which slowed law enforcement’s response to the Jan. 6 riot.

Before the new law, the Capitol Police chief needed approval to request help from the Capitol Police Board, a four-member panel that includes the architect of the Senate and the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms. The new authority was one of the recommendations the two Senate committees put forth in June.

The Capitol Police Board released a report Tuesday highlighting progress in areas like upgraded equipment for officers, such as tactical gear.

“Based on the above security enhancements, and those that are on-going, we are confident that the Capitol complex is more secure today than prior to January 6, 2021,” the board said in the report. “In addition, the changes and improvements made by the USCP transformed the USCP into a better prepared law enforcement agency. However, we cannot afford to be complacent.”

Top Democrats applauded the improvements.

“Today’s report shows continued progress in this vital mission,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who heads the Administration Committee, praised the steps taken in “operational planning and interagency coordination, intelligence gathering and assessment, training and equipment.”

But Manger is not embracing all of the recommendations Congress put forth. He is expected to reject the idea of making the agency’s Civil Disturbance Unit, which is trained to respond to protests and other demonstrations, a permanent part of the agency.

“Given our current vacancies, budget, and the mission needs of other Department components, this is something we cannot accomplish in the near term,” he says in Wednesday’s prepared remarks.

In both his opening statement and the Capitol Police Board’s report, Manger noted “enhancements” to the Civil Disturbance Unit, such as expanding staffing and training.

Haley Talbot and Garrett Haake contributed.

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