Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville and retired Gen. Joseph Dunford, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have strong ties to the city of Quincy.
With Trump not engaged, it fell to Pentagon officials, a handful of senior White House aides, the leaders of Congress and the vice president holed up in a secure bunker to manage the chaos.
Last week’s security debacle has lent momentum and urgency to the longstanding effort for D.C. to gain direct authority over its National Guard contingent.