September 17, 2025

Democrats on Senate Armed Services Committee call for hearing on use of military in American cities


Source: NBS NEWS

 

Every Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has joined to ask its Republican chairman to convene a hearing with Pentagon leaders about the Trump administration’s growing use of members of the U.S. military on the streets of American cities.

In a letter to Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the 13 Democratic senators argue that the committee and the American people deserve answers on the cost of deploying personnel and equipment to U.S. cities, the impact on military readiness and the effect on the military’s relationship with the American people.

Active duty and National Guard troops have been deployed to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to support federal and local law enforcement officials tasked with combating crime, protecting against protests and conducting immigration missions.

On Monday, President Donald Trump signed a memo establishing a task force in Memphis, Tennessee, that would mobilize the National Guard and federal law enforcement officials to combat crime there, similar to the administration’s actions in Washington.

“The effort will include the National Guard, as well as the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. marshals, and more,” he said in the Oval Office announcement.

Administration officials have also spoken about potentially sending troops to New Orleans, Chicago and Baltimore.

“These deployments could have devastating effects on our military readiness and trusted relationship between the public and the servicemembers who are meant to protect them from external threats,” the Democratic senators write in their letter to Wicker.

In a statement to NBC News, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., the lead signatory on the letter, said, “In Los Angeles, D.C., Chicago and now Memphis, Donald Trump seems determined to deploy our military to police American cities with absolutely zero regard for the lasting impact this will have on readiness, public trust and our national security. Congress has a duty to ensure our Armed Forces remain as strong as possible—that means exercising Congressional oversight as this Administration continues to redirect critical DoD resources away from our military’s core missions. If Republicans truly believe fighting crime is an appropriate use of our military, then they should welcome the opportunity to hear from DoD leadership about their plans.”

In their letter, senators call on Defense Department leaders to appear before the committee to provide answers on how the military is being used.

They also argue that there has not been transparency on the cost of these deployments or on how that cost compares to alternatives. comparing the use of military personnel and assets compared to possibly more affordable alternatives.

And they write that, in a Pentagon that prioritizes warfighters, some assignments have, “detailed DoD and military personnel in rising numbers to provide administrative and logistical assistance for interior law enforcement, with undisclosed impacts to the kind of tough, realistic training required to build lethality and readiness for core military missions.”

There have also been questions about the legality of the deployments. During a congressional hearing on the Pentagon’s budget in June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended Trump’s decision to send thousands of troops to Los Angeles, including 700 active duty Marines, to respond to protests against the administration’s deportation policies, calling it “maintaining law and order.” But he could not say what legal authority allowed the president to send federal troops to U.S. streets to support law enforcement.

“I’d have to pull up the specific provision,” he said. “But our Office of General Counsel, alongside our leadership, has reviewed and ensured, in the order that we set out, that it’s completely constitutional for the president to use federal troops to defend federal law enforcement.”


By:  Courtney Kube