Top legal experts trust All Rise News’ analysis of the most significant cases in the courts, and our readers trust us for information about how these cases affect their power in a democracy.
The Justice Department told a federal appeals court on Tuesday that Donald Trump and every future president has the unreviewable power to send in the National Guard in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Senior Justice Department counsel Brett Shumate emphasized that there are no exceptions to his view that courts cannot “second-guess” Trump’s determination to federalize the National Guard, whenever and however he wants.
Last week, callers flooded congressional phone lines with demands that their reps denounce Trump’s militarized response to protests, according to internal data from 5 Calls.
See the data here.
U.S. Circuit Judge Mark J. Bennett, a Trump appointee, floated a hypothetical response to the Los Angeles protests.
“In your view, if a hypothetical future president made the decision to call up in response the militia of every state and the District of Columbia — so 51 militias — would it also be your view that that decision, by this hypothetical future president, would be entirely unreviewable?” Bennett asked.
Shumate responded without hesitation, “Yes, because that is an express delegation that couldn't be any more clear that the President gets to decide how many forces are necessary to quell the rebellion [and] to execute federal laws.”
Watch the full exchange, which took place shortly after 14 minutes into the proceedings.
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to All Rise News to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
