House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked for the National Guard to clear and secure the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the situation not authorized to speak on the record.

a group of people standing in front of a crowd posing for the camera: Protesters gesture to U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, near the Ohio Clock. © Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP Protesters gesture to U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, near the Ohio Clock.

The decision to ask for the National Guard to intervene comes as protesters breached the Capitol during Wednesday's counting of electoral votes. Police barricaded the doors of the House chamber and had their guns drawn, and there were reports of shots fired inside the buliding.

Requests for additional assistance from the Washington, D.C. National Guard are being considered, according to a Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The DC National Guard is under control of the Army Secretary. Defense officials are monitoring the security situation at the Capitol but do not expect to receive requests for active-duty troops, the official said. Police are better able than Guard soldiers to deal with the protesters who have stormed inside the Capitol building and have gathered on the steps outside, the official said.

—Christal Hayes, Nicholas Wu and Tom Vanden Brook