NEWS: Schiff, Padilla, Illinois, Oregon Senators Warn Against Trump’s Illegal Deployments of National Guard Troops to Their States

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) - the six Senators representing states that Donald Trump has sought to force unlawful National Guard deployments to over state and local officials' objections - issued the following statement condemning the President's threats against their states:

"Donald Trump is stretching the limits of Presidential authority far past their breaking point and moving us closer to authoritarianism with each dangerous and unacceptable escalation of his campaign to force federal troops into American communities against the wishes of sovereign states in the Union he is supposed to represent.

"Whether in Los Angeles, Chicago, or Portland, the Trump Administration continues fabricating claims of chaos and crime on American streets to justify his false assertions that there is a 'need' to deploy troops into our cities - all while literally defunding our police by cutting funding that helps local law enforcement make our cities safer.

"None of our states asked for this. None of our states need this. And none of our National Guard Troops - who are our friends and neighbors - signed up to intimidate their fellow Americans in their own communities or to be used as political pawns by a vindictive President. Donald Trump should immediately reverse course and end these un-American deployments."

Last month, Schiff, Padilla, and 17 other Senate Democrats filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the lawsuit brought against President Trump for his misuse of the U.S. military in Los Angeles to suppress peaceful protests. The California Senators also recently demanded the U.S. Department of Defense provide information on operational details related to the ongoing deployment of California National Guard personnel in Los Angeles.

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