Biden Says National Guard Might Be Deployed To Address Trucker Shortage
President Joe Biden said Thursday his administration is considering deploying the National Guard to help address the trucker shortage in America.
Supply chain bottlenecks have been plaguing the country and the administration recently warned American consumers of empty shelves come the holidays. Although the administration has convinced West Coast ports and major retail companies like Walmart to operate 24/7 to address the issue, there’s still a growing trucker shortage.
Biden, speaking at CNN’s town hall in Baltimore, Maryland, was asked by moderator Anderson Cooper whether he’d consider having the National Guard help with the trucking issue. The president said “yes” and noted there are ongoing discussions on the matter.
“First of all, I want to get the ports up and running and get the railroads and the railheads and the trucks in port ready to move because I’ve gotten Walmart and others to say we’re going to move stuff off of the port into our warehouses,” Biden said. (RELATED: ‘It’s Unprecedented’: Builders Running Out Of Key Construction Materials, Forced To Find Alternatives)
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“Yes, if we can’t move – increase the number of truckers, which we’re in the process of doing,” he said when Cooper requested confirmation that the idea is a possibility.
The president continued on to say that “small businesses need the help badly” and noted that a lot of these businesses buy product from larger places.
Senior administration officials did admit that the American Rescue Plan likely contributed, in part, to the issue because of an increased demand for goods. Still, the officials said the rescue plan helped the economy and administration officials have claimed the crisis is partly due to the president’s successful economic agenda.
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