Democrat leaders have pushed back against President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., arguing that the move oversteps his authority.
The Washington Times reported that legal scholars say the Insurrection Act of 1807 gives the president broad power to deploy troops under certain conditions.
John Yoo, a law professor at UC Berkeley, explained that Trump invoked his authority to protect federal facilities and personnel, a rationale upheld previously by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Similarly, Daniel Pi of the University of New Hampshire noted that the act allows the Guard to be deployed if a governor requests it, if federal law is obstructed, or if constitutional rights are being denied. Without a governor’s request, the administration could argue that federal law is being obstructed.
Detractors point to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which limits military involvement in domestic law enforcement. However, experts point out that the Insurrection Act creates exceptions, and that Trump already used it to send the Guard to Los Angeles during immigration protests. The administration has also cited Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which permits deployment in cases of invasion, rebellion, or when state forces cannot enforce the law.
William Banks of Syracuse University explained that the president has even greater control in Washington, D.C., since the city is not a state. The Home Rule Act of 1973 gives the president authority to take charge of local police and the Guard. Trump exercised this power in August by activating the D.C. National Guard.
Still, deploying troops to states without a governor’s approval would be difficult to justify. The Times reported that Banks said Trump would need to show that federal law was being blocked — something hard to prove with ordinary street crime.
Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have indicated the potential deployment of National Guard troops to several cities run by Democrat administrations if they don’t take a stronger approach to crime.
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