Troops on the Streets: A Power Struggle

President Donald Trump's recent moves to use the National Guard in ways that go against local leaders' wishes have sparked a big legal fight. This isn't just about sending soldiers to different states; it's about who has the power to make these decisions and how far the president can go. Trump sees this as a way to tackle crime and immigration, but others see it as a power grab. He wants to use the National Guard to patrol cities, something that hasn't been done before. This has led to lawsuits from states like Illinois, Oregon, and California, all led by Democratic governors. The Posse Comitatus Act, a law from nearly 150 years ago, limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Trump has talked about using the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to send active-duty military to states that can't control unrest or are defying federal law. But legal experts say the courts will look at whether Trump's orders follow the Constitution and the laws about using the Guard. Trump's opponents have used the court system to slow down his plans, and legal experts worry about what might happen if Trump doesn't follow court orders. Elizabeth Goitein, an expert on presidential powers, says Americans should be concerned that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth see these deployments as practice for overseas conflicts. Meanwhile, governors like Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois have had to announce troop deployments, and Pentagon officials are struggling to give basic details about these operations. This is a far cry from President John F. Kennedy's move to federalize the Alabama National Guard in 1963 to enforce civil rights laws.