Trump's coronavirus National Guard order expires the day before many members would be eligible for key benefits


National Guard members tasked with lending states a hand during the coronavirus pandemic will see their deployments end June 24, just one day before many would become eligible for key federal retirement and education benefits, Politico reports.
Politico obtained audio of an interagency call in May which outlined the Trump administration's plans for the National Guard and it was acknowledged that thousands of members deployed in March would tally 89 days of service meaning they would fall one day short of the 90-day threshold for reducing their pension qualification age and earning 40 percent tuition discounts at public colleges and universities under the GI Bill.
"It seemed kind of weird to me," said retired Brig. Gen. J. Joy Robinson, president of the National Guard Association. "It's a Wednesday. And it also coincides with 89 days of deployment for any soldiers who went on federal status at the beginning. I was getting all kinds of calls about it and I said, 'It's probably just a coincidence.' But in the back of my mind, I know better. They're screwing the National Guard members out of the status they should have."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The National Guard's Hall pushed back on that notion, pointing out that benefits are cumulative, so members can potentially qualify for those benefits during later deployments. A National Guard spokesman also said it's possible a decision to extend the deployments could still come in the weeks ahead. Read more at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
How the online world relies on AWS cloud servers
The Explainer Chaos caused by Monday’s online outage shows that ‘when AWS sneezes, half the internet catches the flu’
-
Leonard and Hungry Paul: ‘beautiful, heartfelt’ television
The Week Recommends Julia Roberts narrates this ‘charming’ and ‘unexpectedly profound’ adaptation of Rónán Hession’s novel
-
Inside The Peninsula, London’s first billion-pound hotel
The Week Recommends As the capital’s super-luxury hotel scene continues to expand, the respected brand is still setting the standard
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leak
Speed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroom
speed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deployment
Speed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ rallies
Speed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth