One year in, Trump's troop deployment in D.C. is ongoing, unending, pointless — and very bad
The "America 250" flags are a particularly empty emblem on the uniforms of troops deployed on the streets of the nation's capital. And for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.
On Tuesday, it will be one year since President Donald Trump called up the National Guard to be deployed in Washington, D.C., “to address the epidemic of crime in our Nation’s capital.“
It was a lie then, it’s a lie now, but here we are. And here they are. And here they are to remain through 2029, if Trump has his way.
On Sunday, like clockwork, moments after I saw a sign about the armed troops’ presence in D.C., a group of National Guard troops walked by.
The sign proclaims, “If DC had statehood, armed soldiers wouldn’t be patrolling our cat cat cafes.“
Although that is likely correct, I do want to add two notes. First, some Republican governors (in Tennessee and Louisiana) have made it possible for there to be National Guard deployment in Democratic-led cities — with deployments in Memphis and New Orleans. Second, even without statehood, the D.C. deployment still is likely illegal. A district court judge ruled as much last November, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit allowed the deployment to continue during litigation (which is moving slowly at the D.C. Circuit).
Returning to the bigger picture, though, the legal case aside, what Donald Trump has done — and what Congress and the courts have thus far allowed — is appalling.
There is no plan for this deployment to end. At this point, it basically involves National Guard troops who are deployed within D.C. or sent away from their homes to patrol D.C. with no real purpose for their deployment beyond showing Donald Trump that he has troops and showing D.C.’s residents that Trump can use those troops to attempt to intimidate us.
The attempt hasn’t worked, but it is still a very bad development of historic proportions.
It is bad that children — and adults! — have now spent a year with the military patrolling an American city.
It is bad that Congress didn’t take action immediately to stop this bullshit.
It is bad that this is now such a long-term project that the federal government awarded a nearly $300 million contract to Placemakr to house troops in apartments in D.C. (The three D.C.-based buildings are in Dupont Circle, the West End, and Navy Yard.)
The Declaration of Independence — as many have noted over the past year — has something to say about this, citing, as a reason why we were declaring our independence from Great Britain and King George III, that “he has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”
On Sunday, the troops who walked by me on 14th Street were wearing badges — American flags — celebrating the 250th anniversary of that document and declaration.
It was a particularly empty emblem on Sunday, displayed as it was on the uniforms of members of standing armies he has kept among us in times of peace and without our consent.
Closing my tabs
For those who don’t know what this is, it’s my effort to give a little thank you to paid subscribers. “Closing my tabs” is, literally, me looking through the stories and cases open — the tabs open — on my computer and sharing with you all some of those I was unable to cover during the week but that I nonetheless want to let you know that I have on my radar. Oftentimes, they are issues that will eventually find their way back into the newsletter as a case discussed moves forward or something new happens that provides me with a reason to cover the story more in depth.
This Sunday, these are the tabs I am closing:
