Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem doesn't rule out use of active duty troops to quell LA rioters
Secretary Kristi Noem wouldn't directly answer a question from CBS host Margaret Brennan, when the latter asked Noem if the Trump Administration was willing to call active duty troops in the deal with rioters in Los Angeles.
At the start of her segment, Noem first praised the call made by President Donald Trump to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to defend Los Angeles communities impacted by the riots.
'President Trump is putting the safety of the communities that are being impacted by these riots and by these protests that have turned violent, and he's putting the safety of our law enforcement officers first,' Noem stated.
'So these 2,000 National Guard soldiers that are being engaged today are ones that are specifically trained for this type of crowd situation, where they will be with the public and be able to provide safety around buildings and to those that are engaged in peaceful protests, and also to our law enforcement officers, so they can continue their daily work', Noem continued.
Further justifying the Administration's action, Noem added that the National Guard troops sent to LA were 'there at the direction of the president in order to keep peace and allow people to be able to protest, but also to keep law and order. That is incredibly important to the president,' Noem added.
Brennan then questioned the Secretary on wether or not she would counsel the President to deploy active duty troops to Los Angeles.
Noem replied that 'the advice and counsel of the attorney general, the Department of Defense are extremely important to the president of the United States, and we never discuss our personal conversations and advice to the president of the United States.'
'He makes the decisions. He is the president that sits in that seat, and we are all very proud to work for him,' Noem concluded.
Representative Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who appeared on CBS directly following Noem, told Brennan that he was comfortable with active-duty Marines being put on high alert for possible deployment to quell a civil disturbance 'if need be.'
Gonzales, who served for 20 years in the United States Navy, noted that 'you always want to escalate to de-escalate' situations of civl unrest.
Yet, not all Republicans agree that using military might within US borders is the right thing to do. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) told NBC's Meet The Press Sunday that 'active-duty Marines are not going to be put into local law enforcement. '
'They would be in support roles on it, as we have at the border. We have active-duty military at the border, but they're not doing law enforcement tasks,' Lankford added.
Representative Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.) who represents Paramount, the LA County community where the riots have taken place, said during a CNN appearance Sunday that even the National Guard troop deployment was not needed, and that the sheriffs on the ground 'have the manpower that they need.'
Barragan also said that the president was 'causing tensions to rise.'
'It's only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement,' Barragan added.
'We are having an administration that's targeting peaceful protests, people that are there to protest. The president is sending in the National Guard because he doesn't like the scenes. He doesn't like the scenes of people peacefully protesting,' Barragan stated.
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