During his first term as president Donald Trump He tested the limits of his use of the military to achieve political goals. If he wins a second term, the Republican and his allies are preparing to go much further and redefine the military as a military tool Almighty tool for use on US soil.
He has promised to withdraw thousands of American troops from overseas and station them at the U.S. border with Mexico. He researched its use Troops for domestic policy priorities such as deportations and confronting unrest. He has talked about weeding out military officers who are ideologically hostile to him.
Trump’s vision amounts to a potentially dramatic shift in the military’s role in U.S. society, with serious implications both for the country’s standing in the world and for the restrictions traditionally placed on the military’s use at home.
As Trump’s campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris enters its final round, he is promising strong action against immigrants who do not have permanent residency status. I’m speaking in Colorado On Friday, the Republican described the city of Aurora as a “war zone” controlled by Venezuelan gangs, despite authorities’ claims a single block in suburban Denverand the area is safe again.
“I will save Aurora and every city that has been invaded and conquered,” Trump said at the rally. “We will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in prison or expel them from our country.”
The former president and his advisers are developing plans to shift the military’s priorities and resources, even as wars rage in Europe and the Middle East. Trump’s top priority in his platform, known as Agenda 47is to implement tough measures on the US-Mexico border by moving “thousands of troops currently stationed abroad” to that border. He also promises to “declare war” on the cartels and deploy the Navy in a blockade to board ships and inspect them for fentanyl.
Trump has also said he will use the National Guard and possibly the military as part of the operation to deport millions of immigrants who do not have permanent residency status.
While Trump’s campaign declined to discuss the details of those plans, including how many troops he would move from overseas deployments to the border, his allies have not shied away from portraying the operation as a comprehensive mission involving the federal government’s most powerful tools would be used in new and dramatic ways.
“There could be an alliance between the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. “These three departments need to be coordinated in a way that perhaps has never been done before,” said Ron Vitiello, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump.
While both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations have long committed military resources to the border, the plans would mark a notable escalation of military involvement in domestic politics.
Human rights and civil liberties advocates are alarmed.
“They are promising to use the military for mass raids on American families on a scale reminiscent of some of the worst things our country has done,” said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, an immigration advocacy group.
In Congress, which has the power to limit the use of military force through funding and other authorizations, Republicans are largely on board with Trump’s plans.
“The reason I support Donald Trump is because he will secure the border on day one. This could be misunderstood as a dictator. No, he has to secure the border,” said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-R-S.C., a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Many Republicans argue that Trump’s rhetoric on immigration reflects reality and indicates the need for military action.
“There is evidence that this is an invasion,” said North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “You see 10 million people, many of whom are not here to have a better future, and unfortunately that has made it necessary. This is a problem that the Biden administration and the Harris administration created.”
Still, Trump’s plans to move military supplies abroad could further exacerbate tensions within Republicans between those who pursue a more restrictive foreign policy and Republicans who promote Trump’s brand of “America First” isolationism.
Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, insisted that Trump would not move active-duty troops to the border, even though Trump’s program clearly called for it.
In the Senate, where more traditional Republicans still hold sway, Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, issued a statement calling on the Defense Department to help with border security but adding that the Efforts “have to be”. under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security.”
Trump’s plans for the military must not end at the border.
As Trump wraps up a campaign marked by serious threats to his life, his advisers have already taken action unusual request for military aircraft to transport him amid growing concerns about it Threats from Iran.
During his first term in office, riots and protests against police brutality shook the country, including Trump urged to use military personnel. High-ranking military officers like back then- General Mark Milley opposed these plansThis included issuing a memo emphasizing that every member of the military “swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the values embodied therein.”
Trump’s possible actions would likely require him to invoke war or emergency powers, such as to carry out acts of war Mass deportations according to the xenophobia lawa law of 1798, or Suppression of riots under the Insurrection Actan 1807 law that allows a president to use the military domestically and against U.S. citizens. It was last used by President George HW Bush in 1992 during riots in Los Angeles after police beat black motorist Rodney King.
Ahead of a possible second Trump term, Democrats in Congress tried to update presidential powers such as the Insurrection Act, but had little success.
That has led them to instead issue dire warnings that Trump now has fewer guardrails over the use of the military. He has shown an ability to bend institutions to his goals, from a Supreme Court willing to reconsider longstanding interpretations of presidential powers to a military made up of officers and leaders who are his Plans are likely to be pushed back.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who introduced legislation to update the Insurrection Act, said the plans “illustrate Donald Trump’s complete misunderstanding of the U.S. military as a force for national defense and not because of his personal preference to demagogue an issue.”
But Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw emphasized how many members of his party are comfortable with using the military to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
“Whatever the limit is, I think we’re OK with that,” he said.