June 18th, 2020 by WCBC Radio
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced legislation to strip the President’s authority to control the District of Columbia National Guard and to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department. These measures have proven all the more necessary after the President’s recent use of force against peaceful protesters in D.C. The bills have been previously introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), but have never before been introduced in the Senate.
“The President’s use of force against peaceful protestors in D.C. was a gross violation of their First Amendment rights. No governor would allow the President to march troops into their state without express approval – and yet, the District of Columbia is denied that basic right. It’s clear from Trump’s recent actions that the President must be immediately stripped of this authority. As we continue working to secure statehood for the District of Columbia, this basic principle of self-governance must also be addressed,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“The fact that the President of the United States deployed the National Guard against peaceful protestors in the District of Columbia for a photo-op is abhorrent to me – not just as someone who has served in the military, but just as a human being. And the only reason the President was able to carry out that order is because D.C. is not a state – and therein lies the problem,” said Senator Carper, who introduced the first Senate D.C. statehood bill in 2013. “This most recent incident has made clear that, while we work on the important issue of D.C. statehood, the District of Columbia should be granted control over its National Guard and Metropolitan Police Department – autonomy that every single state enjoys. The bills I am introducing today with Senator Van Hollen would give the mayor of D.C. the same control over its National Guard that all 50 states have and fix a law that currently allows a power-hungry President to take control of the city’s police department. If we are to have a healthy democracy, we cannot let what happened to peaceful protestors in Lafayette Square happen again.”
The District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act would name the Mayor of Washington, D.C. as Commander-in-Chief of the D.C. National Guard, giving the Mayor the same control over the D.C. National Guard that the governors of the states and the three territories with National Guards have over their respective National Guards. As exemplified recently, under current law, the President is Commander-in-Chief of the D.C. National Guard.
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June 18, 2020 at 5:31 pm, Bob said:
Three quintessential Democrats at work; two petulant senators and a tax cheating almost representative of forty years. If things go their way we can watch the whole country turn into a big Seattle. Gen Z is aptly named.
June 18, 2020 at 6:41 pm, Jay said:
The president cannot legally sent troops into any state unless the governor requests such action. Van Hollen merely wants the same rules to apply to DC. I don’t see where that relates to what is happening in Seattle.
June 19, 2020 at 8:51 am, Dave said:
Did the Governor of Alabama ask President Eisenhower to send troops in to integrate the schools in Little Rock? Might want to read history.
June 18, 2020 at 7:11 pm, mac said:
Trump should hurry and get a few selfies with his Bible before he loses the privilege of using the D.C. National Guard as his personal storm troopers.
He’s an embarrassment and needs to be brought under control.
June 19, 2020 at 12:54 pm, jackblack said:
> GET A LIFE mac
June 18, 2020 at 9:12 pm, Bob said:
It is a shame that no test for Covid 19 exists that is so easy and accurate as these online tests for TDS. I hope that the former ailment does not prove to be incurable as the latter seems to be. Cheers
June 18, 2020 at 10:42 pm, Jay said:
Bob, are you really defending Trump? He says or does something every day that puts into question his mental faculties not to mention his ability to function in a rational, thoughtful manner. I’ve never met, seen, or heard of any 74 year old man who behaves the way he does. I hope you enjoy the MAGA cult rally Saturday night.
June 19, 2020 at 1:22 am, Bob said:
> Actually, I’m just enjoying poking fun at hillbillies with dreadful grammar trying to virtue signal their way out of their own skins.
June 19, 2020 at 8:55 am, Dave said:
Never heard of a 74 year old man with questionable mental ability? Are you serious, you never seen Joe Biden?>
June 19, 2020 at 5:22 pm, hollywood said:
Oh You must mean ” Plugs “
June 18, 2020 at 10:57 pm, Ray said:
I think jay is right lets get rid of trump that way the Democrats can take our guns , defund the police and tax the hell out of us as the country turns to chaos. Look at the liberal run states like Washington and new York they are doing great