Trump Order Deepens National Guard’s Role in US Law Enforcement

The National Guard’s role in law enforcement throughout the country could expand under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday.

The order requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to create a specialized unit within the D.C. National Guard “dedicated to ensuring public safety and order in the nation's capital.”

Hegseth also is charged with establishing “a standing National Guard quick reaction force that shall be resourced, trained and available for rapid nationwide deployment.”

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The Pentagon did not immediately have more details on its plans to implement the executive order, saying in an emailed statement Monday afternoon only that it is “reviewing the order and its specific requirements” and “will provide updates or announcements as appropriate.”

It also did not answer a question on how the quick reaction force would differ from the current National Guard Reaction Force, which draws from existing units to respond to emergencies within eight hours.

The executive action comes as Trump has threatened to replicate the National Guard deployments he’s ordered in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles in other Democratic-run cities, and would represent a major escalation in his use of the military to exact political retribution.

About 2,000 Guardsmen, more than half of whom were sent from out of town by Republican governors, are patrolling D.C. right now. Trump has cast the deployment as necessary to combat rampant crime, but local and federal statistics show violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low.

The Guardsmen, some of whom are now armed, are mostly patrolling low-crime tourist areas. They are also preparing to essentially perform community service, such as trash cleanup.

The D.C. deployment came after Trump ordered about 4,000 Guardsmen and 700 Marines to mobilize in Los Angeles earlier this summer in response to protests against his administration’s aggressive immigration raids. Contrary to the administration’s depictions of Los Angeles as consumed by violent rioters, the protests were mostly peaceful and confined to a few blocks downtown.

In recent days, Trump has made clear he plans to expand those types of deployments throughout the country. He has singled out Chicago and New York City, and on Sunday, also threatened to target Baltimore.

“We’re ready to go anywhere,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during Monday’s executive order signing when asked whether he’s preparing to deploy troops to Chicago.

Trump can unilaterally deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C., since the district is not a state. But in other jurisdictions, he may be faced with a complex web of legal authorities. For example, the Los Angeles deployment sparked a lawsuit by California officials arguing Trump usurped states’ rights.

Still, Monday’s executive order suggests he is preparing for more widespread Guard deployments.

In addition to creating a standing quick reaction force, the order tasks Hegseth with ensuring Guardsmen across the country are prepared to assist law enforcement with “quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate.” Hegseth must also designate “an appropriate number of each state's trained National Guard members to be reasonably available for rapid mobilization” to help law enforcement, the order says.

In the specialized law enforcement unit in the D.C. National Guard, the Guardsmen will be deputized to “enforce federal law,” according to the order.

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, called Trump’s threats to expand military deployments “unjustified and dangerous.”

“President Trump’s escalating threats directly undermine our foundational value that the military should not be policing civilians, create legal jeopardy for service members and federal agents, and put regular people going about their lives at high risk of having their rights violated,” Shamsi said in a statement Monday. “Governors and other state and local leaders must stay strong and take all lawful measures to protect their residents against the president’s repeated attempts to intimidate us.”

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