Lawmakers push Pentagon for clarity on domestic military deployments

A pair of Democratic lawmakers are asking senior defense leaders to clarify the rules for deploying military personnel on U.S. soil amid increasing political rhetoric about changing such restrictions so that units can respond to immigration or protest problems.

In a Wednesday letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown, the representatives — Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey — asked the leaders to clearly and publicly explain the limits of military use for domestic issues, calling it a matter “essential to maintaining our democracy” in the near future.

“We feel compelled to look ahead to decisions that you, as the most senior defense officials, may be called upon to make in the next six months,” the pair wrote. “These decisions will fall squarely into the constitutional roles that you swore to uphold and we know you both respect. We are relying on you to preserve the system that our Founding Fathers designed.”

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2024/08/15/lawmakers-push-pentagon-for-clarity-on-domestic-military-deployments/