The defense secretary has extended the National Guard's security mission at the U.S. Capitol through May 23.

The mission to help secure the Capitol was supposed to end on Friday.

Now, 2,300 Guardsmen will continue to work with the Capitol Police and during this extended period will work to reduce the National Guard footprint at the Capitol, according to a statement from the Department of Defense. This represents a reduction of nearly 50% of the current support force.