Pelosi Asked to Investigate Unsuitable Food That Harmed National Guard Members: Rep. Chris Smith

Members of the National Guard are seen on the east front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2021. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) requested House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to hold an investigation in response to more than 30 National Guard members getting sick allegedly from the food they were given during their deployment in Washington last month.

According to ABC News, Smith wrote to Pelosi in a letter that National Guard members from various states “have become ill due to tainted and unhealthy food from a private-sector vendor.”

“Some have even reported vomiting in the Senate parking lot,” Smith said. “Alarmingly, the soldiers have noted receiving almost completely raw meat, some of which, according to press reports, even contained pieces of shaved metal.”

He further asked for a rigorous investigation on the matter and the dismissal of the provider.

“Furthermore, the provision of this food, whether intentional or not, warrants a thorough investigation,” Smith wrote. “The men and women deployed here from New Jersey and elsewhere to protect the Capitol deserve meals that are absolutely safe and healthful.”

In parallel, Michigan House members alleged that many of their local National Guard members were hospitalized due to consumption of ill-suited meals.

“It is completely unacceptable that our men and women serving in Washington D.C. are being hospitalized due to the food they are being provided,” the letter said, according to ABC.

On Tuesday, The National Guard confirmed that some troops in Washington had been served undercooked food.

The Michigan National Guard had on Monday called reports of troops being served poorly prepared food are “very concerning.”

“The firsthand accounts and pictures of undercooked food being served clearly shows that what is being given to Michigan’s service members is unacceptable,” the guard said in a statement to news outlets.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, called on acting Army Secretary John Whitley and Michigan’s adjutant general to communicate with National Guard Chief Gen. Dan Hokanson, who agreed to address the shortcomings of the current contract to provide food to troops, according to the Michigan guard.

“The health and wellbeing of our Michigan National Guard service members is paramount to their success as they continue to serve in missions in the United States and around the globe. Senior leaders of the Michigan National Guard will remain personally engaged with this issue and will continue to push for accountability and a solution to the ill-prepared meals being served,” it added.

Photographs published by WXYZ this week showed undercooked meat and metal shavings in food. The broadcaster said the pictures, provided by a whistleblower, were of meals that were served to troops.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.