I1783 George Washington Faced with a military rebellion Two years after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown Congress has not yet paid American soldiers. and refused the promised pension Alexander Hamilton, who was in Congress at the time Support military rebellion Because he thought pressure would get Congress to approve the tax powers he wanted. Washington criticized Hamilton in a letter: The army was “a Dangerous tools to play with,” he writes. In this story, as in others, President Donald Trump Presidential voters do not share Washington’s sensibilities.
Trump has repeatedly spoken of his plan to use the American military within the country: to preserve border– Deportation Millions of undocumented immigrants crack down protest– He would not be the first president to use the military for domestic purposes. Others have done so to stop protests. suppressing elections or racial riots and enforce court orders or tax collections. But overreaching in this area could do real damage to the relationship between the American military and the public. In his first term, Trump showed he was willing to push those boundaries.
The Constitution prohibits the use of U.S. troops in the country unless there is an invasion of the country or the president declares an insurrection. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 also restricted American military involvement in law enforcement. unless Congress enacts a law Or the President will enforce the Insurrection Act.
The Insurrection Act gives the president authority to call in the National Guard and deploy active-duty troops. including enforcing laws within the country as a philosopher Lindsay Cohn and Steve Vladek emphasized in 2020 that “agencies regulating the use of domestic military force are notoriously open-ended,” and yet the president has rarely called for such action. It was last used more than 30 years ago in 1992, when the governor of California requested federal reinforcements to restore order during the Los Angeles riots.
During his first term as president Trump repeals Insurrection Act Instead, he aims to undermine the professionalism of the military by using the law as an acceptable form of partisan political power. and sought to establish his personal military loyalty. As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces He used the meeting with service members to end his campaign. by encouraging them to agree with him that And I see those numbers—and you like me and I like you.” Hey! Ask military listeners to lobby members of Congress to support their policies. And he pardoned a soldier convicted of a serious crime. including war crimes by a military court and then including him in campaign activities
Trump is trying too. go to the past Senior leaders who discipline rank and file stand by mocking “generals” and accusing them of being stupid, cowardly, and traitors to the fighting forces. He has said since then that When returning to office He will fire them all. General “wake up” And he is considering creating an outside committee that selects veterans in need. to determine which active duty military leaders to remove; He implied that General Mark Retired Milley in particular should be executed for treason. Scholar Risa Brooks has write it down These were attempts to build a military coalition committed to keeping him in office.
Is Trump disciplined enough to plan and enact plans to use the military contrary to his constitutional authority? To believe that he is not attractive Unfortunately, it also belittles the protean instincts that have made him successful. and the authoritarian ambition that enlivened him and those around him.
In the final months of Trump’s first term in office, The “adults in the room” have left the building, and the president has appointed reckless henchmen like Christopher Miller, Cash Patel and Douglas McGregor to senior defense positions. Some of Trump’s current Cabinet choices include Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. They are similar to these appointees in attitude and position. If confirmed They tend to inject partisan politics into the military. creating divisions within the armed forces Drive out experienced commanders and alienated the majority of the population.
Americans have not had to worry about military threats to democracy in the past. The army has never had the desire or organization to overthrow the government. And their professional ethic of civilian subordination is deeply rooted. But a committed president and his civil servants can change this relationship. Even very harshly through all legal means such as using the Insurrection Act.
The American military is obliged to refuse illegal orders. But they cannot refuse to obey orders that are considered immoral or unethical if permitted under the law. That’s how it should be. The military exercises discretion over the elected civilian government in making policy decisions. It would be inefficient in carrying out its work and dangerous to democracy.
But making the military a political tool of civilian leaders is also a threat. Not only for democracy but also the integrity of the army. Politicized soldiers who are dragged into confrontations on behalf of the party or the president. instead of country There will be problems in recruiting and retaining personnel. and the legitimacy of the military will be affected both at home and abroad.
Important defenses against this possibility remain. And that’s really Congress. U.S. national defense policy. Most are regulated by Congress under law. And the armed services committees in both houses can and should regulate too much. The Senate also has the authority to confirm or reject Trump’s Cabinet picks. and clear qualifications for the Ministry of Defense operations should be specified. After all, it is an $841 billion business with nearly 3 million employees. Senators should only confirm appointees who pledge to respect the legislature’s prerogative to determine military policy (for example, Congress should It is the body that decides whether women in the military can be assigned to combat duty) and should not accept appointees who would allow politically selected groups. of veterans to decide which military leaders to shoot.
Legislators and governors can pressure the president not to invoke the Insurrection Act. There are absolutely no riots happening in our country. and the manipulation of executive privilege to declare an insurrection an abuse of power. It would also cause the public to view the military as a tool of domestic repression. in the volunteer army Such perceptions will affect not just recruitment. But it also affects the type of people who choose to serve in government service. And this erodes public trust in the military. That has diminished since Trump and Republican opinion leaders began. attack senior military officer
Both the professional code of conduct that keeps the American military out of politics and the restrictions on domestic use exist for a reason. Americans may not like the military or the democracy that results in their destruction. Donald Trump may not understand these stakes as George does. Washington understands But Congress has reason and latitude to act.
