Gov. Janet Mills has joined Democratic governors in denouncing President Donald Trump’s federalizing of the California National Guard.
On Saturday, Trump signed a proclamation invoking Title 10 to deploy 300 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, which has seen an eruption of protests over his immigration policies.
The Republican’s move has been made over the objections of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said sending the guard into Los Angeles would only escalate tensions there.
In a Sunday statement, the Democratic governors called the move an “alarming abuse of power” that’s “ineffective and dangerous.”
“Further, threatening to send the U.S. Marines into American neighborhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement,” the governors said.
Trump didn’t invoke the 18th-century Insurrection Act to bestow law enforcement powers onto the guard. Rather, under Title 10, Trump has deployed troops to guard federal buildings in the City of Angels, particularly a downtown detention center that’s the focal point of protests.
“It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation,” the governors said.
In addition to Mills, the statement was signed by Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington, Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii, Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon, Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Gov. Dan McKee of Rhode Island, Gov. Matt Meyer of Delaware, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Stein of North Carolina, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.