How can Trump use the national guard on US soil?
Here are some things to know about when and how the president can deploy troops on US soil.
Generally, federal military forces are not allowed to carry out civilian law enforcement duties against US citizens except in times of emergency.
An 18th-century wartime law called the Insurrection Act is the main legal mechanism a president can use to activate the military or national guard during times of rebellion or unrest. But Trump didn't invoke the Insurrection Act on Saturday.
Instead, he relied on a similar federal law that allows the president to federalize national guard troops under certain circumstances. Trump used Title 10 authority, which places him rather than the governor at the head of the chain of command, to call part of California's national guard into federal service.
The national guard is a hybrid entity that serves both state and federal interests. Often, it operates under state command and control, using state funding. Sometimes national guard troops will be assigned by their state to serve federal missions, remaining under state command but using federal funding.
The law cited by Trump's proclamation places national guard troops under federal command. The law says this can be done under three circumstances: when the US is invaded or in danger of invasion; when there is a rebellion or danger of rebellion against the authority of the US government; or when the president is unable to 'execute the laws of the United States', with regular forces.
But the law also says that orders for those purposes 'shall be issued through the governors of the States'. It's not immediately clear whether the president can activate national guard troops without the order of that state's governor.
Trump's proclamation says the national guard troops will play a supporting role by protecting US immigration officers as they enforce the law, rather than having the troops perform law enforcement work.
Steve Vladeck, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center who specializes in military justice and national security law, says that's because national guard troops can't legally engage in ordinary law enforcement activities unless Trump first invokes the Insurrection Act.
Vladeck said the move raises the risk that the troops could end up using force while filling that 'protection' role. The move could also be a precursor to other, more aggressive troop deployments down the road, he wrote on his website.
'There's nothing these troops will be allowed to do that, for example, the ICE officers against whom these protests have been directed could not do themselves,' Vladeck wrote.
The Insurrection Act and related laws were used during the civil rights era to protect activists and students desegregating schools. Dwight Eisenhower sent the 101st airborne to Little Rock, Arkansas, to protect Black students integrating Central high school after that state's governor activated the national guard to keep the students out.
George HW Bush used the Insurrection Act to respond to riots in Los Angeles in 1992 after the acquittal of white police officers who were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King.
National guard troops have been deployed for a variety of emergencies, including the Covid pandemic, hurricanes and other natural disasters. But generally, those deployments are carried out with the agreements of the governors of the responding states.
In 2020, Trump asked governors of several states to deploy their national guard troops to Washington DC to quell protests that arose after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. Many of the governors agreed, sending troops to the federal district.
Related: California leaders condemn Ice raids in LA: 'We will not stand for this'
At the time, Trump also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act for protests following Floyd's death in Minneapolis – an intervention rarely seen in modern American history. But then defense secretary Mark Esper pushed back, saying the law should be invoked 'only in the most urgent and dire of situations'.
Trump never did invoke the Insurrection Act during his first term.
But while campaigning for his second term, he suggested that would change. Trump told an audience in Iowa in 2023 that he had been prevented from using the military to suppress violence in cities and states during his first term, and said that if the issue came up again in his next term: 'I'm not waiting.'
Trump also promised to deploy the national guard to help carry out his immigration enforcement goals, and his top adviser, Stephen Miller, explained how that would be carried out: sympathetic Republican governors would send troops to nearby states that refused to participate, Miller said on The Charlie Kirk Show in 2023.
After Trump announced he was federalizing the national guard troops on Saturday, the defense secretary Pete Hegseth said other measures could follow.
Hegseth wrote on the social media platform X that active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton were on high alert and would also be mobilized 'if violence continues'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
7 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump is a bully. He's using the National Guard to conquer DC as a test run.
The District of Columbia should be allowed statehood, not forced to endure deployment of the National Guard to stop an imagined crime wave. President Donald Trump's activation of the National Guard in Washington, DC, has less to do with an imagined 'out of control' crime wave and more to do with conquest. It is more misguided bullying by the president. To facilitate this racialized farce, he dehumanized the capital district's citizens by labeling them 'bloodthirsty criminals' and 'roving mobs of wild youth.' Let there be no mistake: This rhetoric portends violence against Black, Brown and poor citizens and complete disdain for the unhoused. This action and whatever else might follow is deeply personal to the 700,000 people who call the District of Columbia home and who are tired of the meddling from the administration and Capitol Hill politicians who treat our city like a play toy, likely because of our history as a majority Black jurisdiction. Home to a federal government that offers well-paying positions, Washington has attracted Black professionals and blue-collar workers, creating one of the largest Black middle-class populations in the country. We've innovated with affordable housing, invested flush tax revenue in education and implemented a slew of smart labor and justice policies. There's a real city beyond what the tourists know Many Americans don't know this story. They think Washington starts and ends with memorials, museums and monuments. The residential and commercial city is often invisible as a thriving metropolis in its own right, with a deep history and a vibrant culture. Share your opinion: In the wake of Trump's federal DC takeover, are you worried about crime? Tell us. | Opinion Forum Not only have we outshined many of our peer cities, but states, too. DC has a population comparable to Vermont, Alaska and North Dakota, but a budget larger than Arizona's. Residents pay the equivalent of state taxes. DC balances its budget every year, manages a highly functioning mass transit system and employs thousands in jobs that DC residents do with great pride. Still, the way congressional politicians treat us would have our red state friends up in arms if it were done to them. This summer, as the result of a so-called error, Congress withheld more than $1 billion from our approved budget, and that money remains out of our reach − instead of providing the services that our citizens voted and paid for. Opinion: Trump ushers in new DC tourist event − 'A Live Re-creation of Authoritarianism!' The Republican budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes all kinds of culture war initiatives in an attempt to impose conservative values on the more sensible and moderate residents of DC. We're tired of being the punching bag for politicians who wouldn't last a week living under the policies they impose on us. It's as dishonest as it is insulting. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. So much of what this administration and Congress do is informed by their stated orthodoxy around local control and 'rights.' That somehow doesn't apply to us. DC needs statehood, not a federal takeover Fortunately, the president and Congress can't truly 'take over' Washington without ending home rule, which would be difficult to do with the Senate filibuster blocking them. But the president can fearmonger through state-sanctioned violence. And he can use Washington as the test run for the federal takeover of Black and Brown cities daring to oppose this administration's death-dealing politics. We will not accept death. Washington, DC, has proved our right to self-governance and, indeed, statehood. Instead of forcing us to manage a manufactured crisis, elected officials who believe in democracy in earnest should let DC leaders spend our energy on building a more successful and safe city that must become the 51st state. William H. Lamar IV is the pastor at the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
New York Post
7 minutes ago
- New York Post
Zelensky, European leaders to speak to Trump ahead of Putin summit
Europe and Ukraine's leaders will speak to US President Donald Trump at a virtual meeting on Wednesday ahead of his summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin, as they try to drive home the perils of selling out Kyiv's interests in pursuit of a ceasefire. Trump hosts Putin, a pariah in the West since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, at talks in Alaska on Friday that the US president has said will serve as a 'feel-out' meeting in his efforts to end the Russo-Ukraine war. Trump agreed last week to the first US-Russia summit since 2021, abruptly shifting course after weeks of voicing frustration with Putin for resisting the US peace initiative. Advertisement 6 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak to President Trump in a virtual meeting on Wednesday. via REUTERS Trump said his envoy had made 'great progress' at talks in Moscow. The US president says both Kyiv and Moscow will have to cede land to end the war. Advertisement Russian troops have already occupied almost a fifth of Ukraine. The unpredictability of how the summit will play out has fueled European fears that the US and Russian leaders could take far-reaching decisions and even seek to coerce Ukraine into an unfavorable deal. 'We are focusing now to ensure that it does not happen – engaging with US partners and staying coordinated and united on the European side. Still a lot of time until Friday,' said one senior official from Eastern Europe. 6 President Trump is scheduled to meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Advertisement Trump's administration tempered expectations on Tuesday for major progress toward a ceasefire, calling his meeting with Putin in Alaska a 'listening exercise.' The video conference between Trump, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union is expected to take place at 1200 GMT a German government spokesperson said. NATO's secretary general will also attend the conference hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Ukraine hopes the meeting will serve – at least partially – as a European counterweight to the summit in Alaska. Advertisement 6 A Ukrainian servicewoman fired a mortar during training at an undisclosed location in the Sumy region on Tuesday. VITALII NOSACH/EPA/Shutterstock 6 Russian troops have already occupied almost a fifth of Ukraine. AFP via Getty Images European leaders, who are wary of provoking Trump's ire, have repeatedly emphasized that they welcome his peace efforts, while underlining that there should be no deal about Ukraine without Ukraine's participation. Half a dozen senior European officials told Reuters that they see a risk of a deal being struck that is unfavorable for Europe and Ukraine's security. They said European unity would be vital if that happened. 6 President Trump and Zelensky had a heated conversation at the White House on Feb. 28, 2025. REUTERS A source familiar with internal US deliberations said it could not be ruled out that Trump would seek a deal directly with Putin without involving Ukraine or Europe. But the source voiced doubt about that, saying it could cause problems with Kyiv and the EU. Advertisement White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday the summit will be a 'listening exercise' for Trump to hear what it will take to get to a deal. 6 President Trump and Zelensky met while they attended the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican on Apr. 26, 2025. via REUTERS After the call, Trump and Vice President JD Vance were expected to speak to European leaders at a separate online meeting at 1300 GMT the German spokesperson said. That will be followed at 1430 GMT by an online meeting of the 'coalition of the willing,' a group of countries working on plans to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. MOUNTING BATTLEFIELD PRESSURE Advertisement A Gallup poll released last week found that 69% of Ukrainians favor a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also show Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means crushing concessions. Ahead of the calls, Zelensky said it would be impossible for Kyiv to agree to a deal that would require it to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region, a large swathe of which is already occupied by Russia. That, he told reporters on Tuesday, would deprive Ukraine of a vast defensive network in the region, easing the way for Russia to mount a new push deeper into Ukraine in the future. Advertisement Territorial issues, he added, could only be discussed once a ceasefire has been put in place and Ukraine has received security guarantees. Moscow's troops have recently ramped up pressure on the battlefield, tightening their stranglehold on the cities of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine.
Axios
7 minutes ago
- Axios
Trump's BLS shake-up rattles $2.1 trillion inflation-protected bond market
President Trump's firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief is raising alarms beyond data reliability and monetary policy, JPMorgan warns. It could also upset the $2.1 trillion Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) market. Why it matters: TIPS are government securities that adjust payouts based on the official inflation rate. If the validity of those numbers weakens, the market could lose an important hedge against inflation. What they're saying: " Potential politicization of the Fed has been much discussed over the past several months, but the risk of politicizing the data collection process should not be overlooked," Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan, wrote in a note. The TIPS market is built on a foundation of trust in the validity of the inflation data reported by the BLS through the Consumer Price index each month, Feroli noted. The inflation data's integrity is "at least" as important as that of the labor market data given how much traders rely on it – both within and outside of the TIPS market. Catch up quick: Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the head of the BLS, after the agency's monthly data print showed signs of cracks in the labor market. Trump nominated Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni to replace her. Antoni has suggested the possibility of suspending the bureau's flagship monthly jobs report. When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about continuing to publish the report, she said "I believe that is the plan," but added that Antoni "floated the idea of possibly suspending until they can get the data and the methodology in order." Zoom in: Here's a brief primer on how TIPS work. TIPS are tied to inflation, so the principal goes up or down based on the direction of prices as measured by CPI. Upon maturity, investors receive either the original principal amount, or the inflation-adjusted principal, whichever is greater. That makes TIPS a highly valued inflation hedge in a market without a lot of other low-risk, inflation hedging instruments. Be smart: "Every government has an incentive to misstate or to… say that inflation is not as bad as it is," said Brij Khurana, fixed-income portfolio manager at Wellington Management.
