With an erratic, desperate Trump still in charge, military brass worry — and make plans to avert disaster James Kitfield WASHINGTON — As an angry mob stormed the barricades of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, sending lawmakers and their staffs fleeing for their lives, the government was temporarily paralyzed by confusion over who was in charge. The Capitol Police and the mayor of Washington, D.C., pleaded for help from the National Guard, but the Pentagon was reluctant to respond after criticism over deploying troops against protesters in Washington last summer. Finally Vice President Mike Pence, from a secure, undisclosed location where he took shelter with leaders of Congress, reached out directly to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley. National Guard troops from neighboring states were activated, but by then the Capitol building had been overrun.