On First Full Day of President Trump’s Second Term, Sherrill Introduces Legislation to Protect National Guard from the President’s Political Interference

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), former Navy helicopter aircraft commander, former federal prosecutor, and member of the House Armed Services Committee, reintroduced her legislation to prevent the politicization of the National Guard, protect guardsmen and women from improper domestic deployment, and extend the Posse Comitatus Act to protect the National Guard from political abuse. 

“The men and women of the National Guard swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not an oath to a president or political party. But, during his first administration, President Trump utilized dangerous gaps in the laws that govern National Guard deployment for his personal political gain. I have no doubt he will do so again. That’s why, at the start of the second Trump administration, I am once again introducing my legislation that would close some of these dangerous loopholes to prevent Trump from weaponizing the military and law enforcement to go after his political opponents or carry out his extreme policy agenda,” said Rep. Sherrill.

Sherrill’s legislation would require the consent of the chief executives of both the sending state and the receiving state should the president request National Guard units under Title 32. Additionally, Sherrill’s bill would clarify that the Posse Comitatus Act applies to all troops under federal command and control — no matter their status. In 2020, under a novel interpretation of the law by Attorney General Bill Barr, the Trump administration utilized 11 out-of-state National Guard units to suppress protests in Washington, D.C. — contrary to the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act and against the express consent of the Mayor of Washington. 

Sherrill has introduced this legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act every year since 2020 — and has passed it through the House three times before being stripped out of the final legislation. Additionally, Sherrill and Senator Elissa Slotkin wrote directly to senior military leadership ahead of the November 2024 election — including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown, asking them to reiterate constitutional use of active duty military forces on U.S. soil.

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