Former national security leaders file amicus brief to express concern that D.C. deployments are ahistorical and dangerous
Washington, D.C. — Nine former service secretaries and general and flag officers—including members of Count Every Hero—filed an amicus brief in District of Columbia v. Trump in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The brief was not filed in support of either party in the case. The brief warns that the deployment of National Guard troops from eight states and the District of Columbia in D.C. violates the foundational principles of the Posse Comitatus Act, risks Guard readiness and morale, and puts the military at risk of politicization.
In the brief, the signatories emphasized that the D.C. deployments contravene the long American tradition of limiting the military’s role in civilian law enforcement. The former national security leaders express concern that the deployments are actively undermining readiness for the Guard’s primary missions, including by sending troops away from their home states and making them unavailable for disaster response. The brief highlights how the mission’s unclear and unusual goals—some National Guard troops deployed to the District have been assigned to a “beautification task force” tasked with cleaning up trash and raking leaves—might have a deleterious effect on morale among the ranks. It also notes that continuing the deployment of the National Guard over the objection of local leaders risks long-term politicization of the military.
The case underscores the damage that politicized National Guard deployments with unclear missions can cause to the Guard’s traditional roles of serving as a reserve component of the U.S. military and supporting disaster response.
Read the full brief here.