Urgent Action Needed to Protect State Authority Over Military Deployment

I am writing to demand immediate state action to protect our constitutional system from federal military overreach. On September 30, President Trump told military leaders at Quantico that American cities should serve as “training grounds” for troops, describing Democratic-led cities as targets in “a war from within.” Defense Secretary Hegseth told officers to resign if they refuse ideological loyalty to the administration. This is not how democracies function. Federal courts have already ruled Trump’s military deployments illegal. On September 2, Federal Judge Charles Breyer found Trump’s deployment of 4,000 troops to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, calling it “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.” That deployment cost taxpayers $118 million. Oregon is currently suing the administration for unlawfully federalizing its National Guard and deploying troops to Portland based on what the state calls “wildly hyperbolic pretext.” Trump deployed troops to Memphis and Washington without local consent. He has explicitly named Chicago, Seattle, and other cities as future targets. Here is the critical issue: when Trump federalized California’s National Guard in June, he stripped Governor Newsom of authority over his own state forces. The Constitution gives states control over their National Guard unless federalized during genuine emergencies or with congressional authorization. Trump is exploiting this power to override governors, deploy troops for political purposes in cities he dislikes, and use American neighborhoods as what he calls military “training grounds.” No state is safe from this overreach. Our state must act now. I urge you to: — Pass emergency legislation explicitly prohibiting state cooperation with unlawful federal military deployments and requiring judicial review before any federalization of our National Guard. Oregon’s lawsuit provides a legal roadmap. — Authorize the Attorney General to immediately challenge in federal court any attempt to federalize our Guard or deploy federal troops within our borders without proper legal authority. — Publicly commit that our state will not allow its National Guard to be used as a political weapon against American cities. — Demand that our congressional delegation support legislation restricting the president’s power to federalize state Guard units without clear legal justification. When military leaders are told to pledge ideological loyalty and federal judges rule deployments illegal, waiting is not an option. The administration has shown it will ignore governors, defy courts, and deploy troops regardless of constitutional limits. Our state needs legal safeguards in place before federal forces arrive at our border. This is about preserving the constitutional balance between federal and state authority and preventing the military from becoming a domestic political tool. Please act immediately to protect our state’s sovereignty and our democracy.