Nevada Governor Opposes Trump's National Guard Request
At least two U.S. governors have already signaled that they intend to fight President Donald Trump’s order to send National Guard troops to America’s southern border.
Unlike the active-duty military branches, Trump must deploy the National Guard in coordination with the nation’s governors.
While two states, Texas and Arizona, announced Friday their plans to comply with the president’s order, others have expressed reluctance.
As the Daily Caller reported, the latest statement of disapproval from a state-level executive came from the Republican governor of Nevada.
Brian Sandoval said in a statement released by spokeswoman Mary-Sara Kinner that he did not believe Trump’s plan for border security amounted to “an appropriate use” of his state’s National Guard force.
An earlier statement by his Democratic counterpart in Oregon offered a more emphatic denunciation of the Trump order.
In a series of tweets Wednesday, Gov. Kate Brown insisted that she would not cooperate with the request to “deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border.”
If asked, she wrote that she would “say no.”
If @realDonaldTrump asks me to deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border, I’ll say no. As Commander of Oregon’s Guard, I’m deeply troubled by Trump’s plan to militarize our border.
— Kate Brown (@KateBrownForOR) April 4, 2018
Brown further claimed there had “been no outreach by the President or federal officials,” calling the latest focus on the border an attempt to “distract from his troubles in Washington.”
There’s been no outreach by the President or federal officials, and I have no intention of allowing Oregon’s guard troops to be used to distract from his troubles in Washington.
— Kate Brown (@KateBrownForOR) April 4, 2018
Federal officials, however, say the operation is progressing as planned in conjunction with the appropriate governors.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen shared a joint statement with Defense Secretary James Mattis Friday indicating that troops were already en route to the border.
At the direction @POTUS, and as a result of close coordination with the border state governors and DoD, National Guard personnel are deploying to the border tonight. Statement w #SecDef Mattis @DeptofDefense 👇 pic.twitter.com/uCWUxvS7yZ
— Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 7, 2018
“Working closely with the border governors, the Department of Homeland Security identified security vulnerabilities that could be addressed by the National Guard,” the statement read. “We appreciate the governors’ support and are dedicated to working with them to secure the national borders.”
In a memorandum on the issue he signed this week, Trump declared that the “situation at the border has now reached a point of crisis.”
In response to the “lawlessness that continues at our southern border,” he said his administration “has no choice but to act.”
As of Friday evening, the Texas National Guard had committed 250 of its troops to the border within 72 hours. In Arizona, 150 troops are under orders to deploy next week.
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