{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-raises-concerns-about-military-memphis", "Congressman Cohen Raises Concerns about the Military in Memphis", "2025-10-01", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", "cohen", "https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth today saying that he learned of their visit to Memphis from the news media, not from their offices, and said he hopes to get answers about how the Memphis Safety Task Force will work.\n\nThe letter reads in part:\n\n\u201cIf the real purpose of the Memphis Safety Task Force is public safety, we must be more collaborative.\u201d\n\nSee the entire text of the letters here:\n\n\u201cDear Attorney General Bondi and Secretary Hegseth:\n\n\u201cI was disappointed to learn from the media that you were in Memphis discussing the Memphis Safety Task Force, which involves sending federal law enforcement resources and National Guard troops to my district. I sincerely hope this will be a collaborative process that empowers Memphians, not some punitive effort or federal occupation of this great American city.\n\n\u201cI still have many questions about how the Memphis Safety Task Force will work, the priorities of federal law enforcement, and the mission of National Guard troops. Many of the terms and structures of President Trump\u2019s September 15, 2025, Memorandum entitled \u2018Restoring Law and Order in Memphis\u2019 remain undefined.\n\n\u201cThis is particularly concerning because, just yesterday, Secretary Hegseth assembled the nation\u2019s most senior military leaders to stress that the exclusive purpose of the military was \u2018war fighting.\u2019 He continued, \u2018We also don\u2019t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality, and authority for warfighters.\u2019\n\n\u201cPresident Trump followed those remarks by discussing domestic deployments of the military, like the one you are heralding today, saying, \u2018This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room, because it's the enemy from within.\u2019 He continued, the military \u2018should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds.\u2019 Memphians are not enemies; they are Americans. They are entitled to constitutional rights, not their government working to \u201cintimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill\u201d them. We are not a training ground or target practice. \u201cMaximum lethality\u201d is no way to treat fellow Americans. Memphis is one of America\u2019s great cities with world-renowned cultural gifts, generous people, and a vibrant community.\n\n\u201cIf the real purpose of the Memphis Safety Task Force is public safety, we must be more collaborative. I implore you to drop the wartime rhetoric and footing. I implore you to listen and respond to Memphians, coordinate with the City and County, communicate with my office, and invest in what has been working. We need long-term solutions, not political photo ops.\n\nSincerely,\n\nSteve Cohen\n\nMember of Congress \u201c\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-raises-concerns-about-military-memphis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9931651875376701, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}