DiscoverThe CurrentWhat’s the president’s legal basis for sending National Guard troops to DC streets?
What’s the president’s legal basis for sending  National Guard troops to DC streets?

What’s the president’s legal basis for sending National Guard troops to DC streets?

Update: 2025-09-04
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On August 11, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that put the federal government in charge of the local police force. A second executive order directed members of the D.C. National Guard into active federal service. Today, over 2,000 National Guard members from D.C. and other states are mobilized in the nation’s capital. To talk about the constitutional and legal basis of these actions and what this expansion of federal military power by the Trump administration could mean for other U.S. cities, Scott Anderson, a fellow in Governance Studies, plus general counsel and senior editor for Lawfare, joins the Current.

Show notes and transcript.

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What’s the president’s legal basis for sending  National Guard troops to DC streets?

What’s the president’s legal basis for sending National Guard troops to DC streets?