Hoynes Asserts Authority with National Guard Ultimatum
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Vice President Hoynes enters, hesitates at the head of the table, and the room stands at attention before he reassures them to continue.
Hoynes demands swift action on the shooters, threatening to federalize the National Guard if the signal man isn't captured within an hour.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
professional
Appears on TV monitor entering with Leo, reports on Fitzwallace's travel and phone availability, calls room to attention, and suggests the King of Jordan as message route to Iraq.
- • Provide updates on military leadership logistics
- • Facilitate communication channels
Taut professionalism amid escalating scrutiny
Delivers concise report on minor disruptions—Logan ATC down 22 minutes, City Bank offline over an hour, Delta Center lights out seven minutes—immediately after Hoynes sits aside, feeding intel into his command query.
- • Provide factual context for leadership decisions
- • Minimize perceived threat scale
- • Data brevity aids clear crisis assessment
- • Disruptions are containable, not catastrophic
Frustrated resolve veiling constitutional unease over sudden command
Enters the Situation Room purposefully, greets Nancy and Leo curtly, pauses hesitantly at the head of the table as staff stand at attention, waves them down with surprised humility and sits deferentially aside, demands intel on shooters' missing IDs with evident frustration, then decisively issues a one-hour ultimatum for the signal man's custody threatening National Guard federalization.
- • Assert de facto presidential authority in Bartlet's absence
- • Inject urgency into the signal man manhunt to neutralize immediate threat
- • Lack of shooter IDs signals a calculated, professional operation
- • Federal threats will compel governors to deliver results swiftly
Alert obedience under pressure
Leap to rigid attention on Jack's 'Ten Hut!' command as Hoynes pauses at the head table, embodying disciplined deference before resuming at his wave-down.
- • Honor Vice President's presence per protocol
- • Sustain military readiness
- • Instant attention signals respect for chain of command
- • Vice President's entry demands full operational snap
Politely composed amid underlying crisis strain
Greets the entering Vice President with formal courtesy—'Good evening, Mr. Vice President'—positioning herself amid the room's rising tension before the command snap-to.
- • Maintain protocol in leadership transition
- • Acknowledge Hoynes' elevated status
- • Formal greetings stabilize hierarchical command flow
- • Vice President's arrival shifts room dynamics decisively
Stoic assurance conveying operational insight
Responds directly to Hoynes' frustrated query on shooters' IDs—'They didn't have anything on them, Mr. Vice President. They knew we were gonna get them through the window'—confirming their premeditated anonymity.
- • Deliver unvarnished intel to empower command
- • Highlight shooters' tactical foresight
- • Visible window capture forced ID dump
- • Transparency accelerates threat neutralization
Acknowledges Nancy's request for clothes.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Serves as the nerve center where Hoynes enters to claim de facto command, staff snapping to attention at the head table amid glowing consoles and prior satellite chatter; its bunker-like confines amplify the power handoff's gravity, channeling greetings, queries, and ultimatums into a forge of provisional leadership.
Referenced by Bobby's report as site of 22-minute ATC blackout, underscoring coordinated attack's reach and prompting Hoynes' shooter intel demand—its invocation heightens the room's vigilance on domestic vulnerabilities feeding the manhunt urgency.
Cited in Bobby's dispatch as arena plunged into seven-minute blackout, weaving into the event's intel flow post-Hoynes' seating and fueling his frustration over shooter anonymity—symbolizes assault's disruptive breadth demanding swift federal response.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Hoynes' past dismissal of Josh's concerns ('future White House role') informs his deferral to Leo during the DEFCON debate, revealing lingering political insecurities."
"Gina's report of a coordinated attack ('two shooters + signal man') directly triggers Hoynes' demand to federalize the National Guard for the manhunt."
"Gina's report of a coordinated attack ('two shooters + signal man') directly triggers Hoynes' demand to federalize the National Guard for the manhunt."
"Gina's report of a coordinated attack ('two shooters + signal man') directly triggers Hoynes' demand to federalize the National Guard for the manhunt."
"Josh's unresolved skepticism of Hoynes (past) narratively precedes Nancy McNally challenging Hoynes' authority in the Situation Room, undermining his leadership consistency."
Key Dialogue
"HOYNES: "Somebody tell me-these shooters, they didn't have a wallet on them? They didn't have a driver's license?""
"ARMY MAN: "They didn't have anything on them, Mr. Vice President. They knew we were gonna get them through the window.""
"HOYNES: "If this signal guy isn't in custody in one hour, I'm going to federalize the Virginia and Maryland National Guards.""