OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Introduction of the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 2, 2025
Location: Washington, DC

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act, which would give the mayor of the District of Columbia control over the D.C. National Guard. Representative Jamie Raskin is the co-lead of this bill in the House, and Senator Chris Van Hollen is the sponsor of this bill in the Senate.

The governors of the states and territories control their National Guards while the president controls the D.C. National Guard. This bill would give the D.C. mayor, who knows D.C. better than the president, the same control over the D.C. National Guard that the governors of the states and territories have over their National Guards. The president would have the same authority to federalize the D.C. National Guard that the president has to federalize the National Guards of the states and territories.

The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, the events at Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020, and the current deployment of the D.C. National Guard in D.C. are prime examples of why the D.C. mayor should control the D.C. National Guard. During January 6th, the D.C. National Guard was not deployed to the Capitol for several hours, likely costing lives and prolonging the attack. At Lafayette Square, the D.C. National Guard forcibly removed peaceful protestors. Currently, the D.C. National Guard is deployed in D.C. in response to a crime emergency declared by President Trump.

Not only does presidential control over the D.C. National Guard violate D.C. home rule, it also may create a loophole in the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the military's involvement in civilian law enforcement. The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel has opined that when the D.C. National Guard is operating for non-federal purposes, even though it is an exclusively federal entity, it may be used for civilian law enforcement without violating the Posse Comitatus Act.

In the 117th Congress, the House passed this bill as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the FY 2023 NDAA.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward