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Bush Administration's Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion, saying that invoking Insurrection Act powers "would require the presence of an actual obstruction of the execution of federal law or a breakdown in the ability of state authorities to protect federal rights." Just two years after the law was amended, the George W. In 2006, as part of a defense authorization bill, Congress expanded the president's powers, allowing him (or her) to send troops when he/she determines that "constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order."īut it's not clear how far that power really extends, as this 2018 Congressional Research Service report explains.
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In 1807, Congress passed the Insurrection Act, which gave the president the authority to use military forces to suppress a revolt against the government. For example, in Arkansas and several other states, guard members have been staffing the call centers for medical information lines and setting up local centers where sick people are being tested for COVID-19.īut there is a legal exception under which the National Guard can be deployed to enforce laws or maintain order. Generally that means that National Guard forces do things such as distribute food and medical supplies. He added that he already was dispatching "thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers" and other personnel to stop violence in the nation's capital. "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them," Trump proclaimed. "I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the national guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets," Trump said. As protesters thronged in the streets outside the compound's fence, Trump ordered governors and mayors to stop the disturbances.
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On June 1, 2020, as unrest surged in cities across the nation after the killing of an African American named George Floyd by Minneapolis police, President Donald Trump went to the Rose Garden of the White House to make a startling announcement. National Guard troops in L.A.'s Fairfax District, which was damaged during unrest on in response to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police office. A protester holds a Black Lives Matter sign next to U.S.
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