Two Democratic senators are urging President Joe Biden to try to prevent President-elect Donald Trump from deploying the US military on American soil once he takes office, as he has promised in recent months, NBC News reported Monday.
In a letter sent last week to Biden and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked them to make a policy that “prohibits the mobilisation of active duty military or federalising National Guard personnel to be deployed against their fellow Americans.”
Trump has said for a long time that he will use the military to help deport a lot of people who do not have legal immigration status. Also, he has said that he will use military force against the “enemy within,” which is a term for his political opponents.
The letter asks Biden to make it clear that the Insurrection Act, which lets the president use military force in the United States, should only be used very rarely, like when local police are completely overwhelmed and need help.
The “Standing Rules for the Use of Force,” which say that any use of military force must be reasonable in size, are also called for by Warren and Blumenthal.
“If not dealt with, any uncertainty about the legal use of military force, along with President-elect Trump’s clear intention to use the military in such dangerous and unprecedented ways, could be disastrous,” the letter says.
The letter says, “We are deeply concerned that during his previous term in office, President-elect Trump repeatedly sought to use the military to impede the First Amendment rights of Americans.” The senators also say that using the military to further the president’s political goals is “antithetical.”
During his first term, Trump said he would send the U.S. military and National Guard to deal with the Black Lives Matter protests across the country. Since then, he has said many times that he wants to use soldiers to silence dissent.
“We have some crazy, sick people on the far left.” “They can not let that happen,” Trump told Fox News in October. “I think they are the ones who should be able to handle it easily.” If needed, the National Guard or, even better, the military.
A lot of Trump’s closest friends, like Vice President-elect JD Vance, have confirmed his plans.