Bowser's second plea for the National Guard to be deployed to deal with huge influx of migrants into the city
The Pentagon, for the second time in recent weeks, denied on Monday a request by Washington's mayor to help receive migrants arriving from Republican-led states Texas and Arizona in a bid to shift responsibility to the federal government and Democrats.
Mayor Muriel Bowser in July called for the deployment of the District of Columbia National Guard to help with migrants describing it as a 'humanitarian crisis' in the nation's capital.
Bowser asked for 90-day deployment and for a review at the end of that period, but the request was denied by the U.S. military.
She repeated her request on August 11 - this time providing a specific 90-day timeline that would begin on August 22.
In a letter sent to Bowser, the Pentagon citing several reasons for not agreeing to the request including the D.C. National Guard not have any specific training or experience in providing facility management for such a mission that would include feeding, sanitation, or ground support to migrants.
The letter added that it would have a 'substantial' impact on the readiness of the troops in D.C.
In her request, Bowser said most of the migrants bused to D.C. don't stay in the area, and only need assistance for about 72 hours.
U.S. military officials have privately said for the past few years that they are being used for tasks that should be done by civilian agencies and troops should only be used as a last-resort for domestic issues.
The mayor's initial request had frustrated some White House officials who thought Bowser, a Democrat, could handle the issue without military troops and was playing into Republican political attacks on President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat
Washington is not a U.S. state or part of one, so the authority to summon National Guard troops rests with the U.S. military.
The state of Texas, led by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, has bused more than 7,500 migrants, as of Monday, to Washington, D.C. on more than 175 busloads.
The vast majority of those arriving in Washington - some 85-90% - continue to other U.S. destinations within hours or days, according to volunteers.
Governor Abbott has also sent more than 1,000 migrants from Texas to New York City as part of his initiative to bus illegal immigrants released from custody out of his state.
Abbott's spokeswoman Renae Eze told DailyMail.com that 20 buses have departed from Texas for the Big Apple so far – with more to come.
Images are emerging weekly of more buses arriving at Port Authority in New York City with migrants disembarking following their trip from the Lone Star State.
While another bus full of migrants arrived in New York City on Sunday, other migrants, some who were previously bussed from Texas, lined up outside Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to receive health care coverage, food and other items.