D.C. mayor wants visiting National Guard to leave, reportedly forced them from hotels

District of Columbia Mayor Murial Bowser wants to remove National Guard units brought to the nation's capital for the George Floyd protests and has had some of the Guardsman removed from a hotel. 

The hotel dispute reportedly centers on who'll pay for the rooms.

"Evicting Utah National Guard personnel from their hotels after a late-night shift risking their lives to protect Washington is a shameful, petty, discrediting decision by Mayor Bowser," Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee said after 200 National Guardsmen from his state were reportedly told after ending their shift a 3 a.m. Friday shift that they would have to leave by the 11 a.m. checkout.

The Democratic mayor made clear Thursday that she would like visiting Guard units to leave, saying, “We want troops from out of state out of Washington, D.C."

Bowser has requested assistance for the District of Columbia National Guard to control the protests, which have at times resulted in stores being vandalized and federal monuments defaced. However, the federal government requested the out-of-state units, including Guardsmen from South Carolina, Utah and neighboring Maryland.

The mayor on Friday responded to Lee's concerns in a Twitter post.

"Senator – until they are recalled home – which I have formally requested from the President, your troops are in DC hotels," she tweeted. "However, DC residents cannot pay their hotel bills. The Army can clear that up with the hotel today, and we are willing to help."

Her request to remove the visiting Guard units comes ahead of a major anti-Trump protest scheduled for Saturday.

The hotel rooms in which the Utah unit was staying were reportedly for COVID-19 workers and paid for by the District. The Guardsmen reportedly by Friday afternoon had found other accommodations.