Trump Charts New Territory in Deploying Troops

“President Donald Trump’s order to deploy 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles appears unprecedented, relying on an unorthodox use of a law aimed at quelling serious domestic unrest or an attack on the United States by a foreign power,“ the Washington Post reports.

“It marks the first time in about 60 years that an American president has taken such action without a governor’s consent. Furthermore, his executive order authorizes the Pentagon to dispatch military personnel domestically to enable federal functions and protect government property — a chilling sign, the experts said, that Trump is prepared to send troops into other cities in response to protests.”

New York Times: “Mr. Trump has long mused about using military force on domestic soil to crush violent protests or riots, fight crime and hunt for undocumented migrants — a move that his aides talked him out of during his first term. Between his two presidencies, he said that he would do so without the consent of state governors if he returned to power.”

“The order is a significant step in that direction, but for now it stops short of invoking the most expansive power Mr. Trump could claim a right to use. It remains unclear how matters will play out on the ground — and, potentially, in court.”