{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-colleagues-call-for-investigation-into-domestic-deployment-of-military-in-american-cities", "Baldwin, Colleagues Call for Investigation into Domestic Deployment of Military in American Cities", "2025-10-21", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "WI", "Tammy Baldwin", "B001230", "www.baldwin.senate.gov", "baldwin", "https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "The full text of the lawmakers\u2019 letter is available here and below.\n\nDear Acting Inspector General Stebbins,\n\nWe write to express our concern about the deployment of U.S. troops to American cities, including in Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Portland; Chicago; and Memphis. The military\u2019s expanded use to support immigration operations and domestic law enforcement activities at home is fundamentally un-Constitutional, dangerous for American civil rights, and risks straining military readiness and resources, weakening troop morale, undermining recruitment and retention, and eroding public trust in the military. Neither the active-duty military nor the National Guard are intended or trained at scale for the purposes that the Administration has claimed they are used for, including \u201ccrime-fighting.\u201d We are concerned that these domestic deployments erode the military\u2019s and National Guard\u2019s ability to prepare for their critical missions. We urgently request that you initiate an inquiry into the cumulative effects of these domestic deployments of U.S. active-duty troops and the National Guard\u2014over the objections of state and local officials\u2014on military readiness, resources, personnel, and our military as an institution.\n\nReadiness is the cornerstone of our national defense, yet repeated politicized domestic deployments place that readiness at risk. When military and Guard units are pulled away from scheduled training or mission preparation, the consequences extend beyond individual units and erode operational strength across the force, leaving the military less prepared for overseas operations and crisis response. The Guard\u2019s unique role as both a state and federal force makes it particularly vulnerable to strain, which could impact the ability of the Guard to protect and save local communities during natural disasters at home.\n\nService members commit to service with the understanding that their sacrifices will aid communities in times of disaster and defend our nation overseas. They are not trained nor prepared to act as a domestic police force. Assignments in support of politically charged law enforcement operations in Los Angeles; Portland; Washington, DC; Memphis; or Chicago erode trust in leadership and accelerate burnout. Military personnel who feel their service has strayed from its intended purpose may question their continued commitment, compounding the Army and the Guard\u2019s already significant retention challenges. At the same time, successfully recruiting new personnel depends on a clear, apolitical mission that honors the history of the active-duty force and the Guard. Associating military service with domestic law enforcement duties\u2014fundamentally contrary to our Constitution\u2014may deter recruits and shrink the pipeline of talent needed to sustain force levels essential to our national security. We cannot afford to drive out servicemembers by normalizing putting them in highly political and fraught conditions, including by forcing troops to confront fellow Americans as opposed to prepare for war, and forcing military officers to navigate unprecedented legal territory and worry about whether they are upholding their oath.\n\nThe domestic deployment of military personnel also is a significant waste of resources. The Pentagon initially estimated the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles to be approximately $170 million for a 60-day deployment. The Washington, DC, National Guard deployment is estimated to cost $2.5 million per day. Many of the Guard units deployed to Washington, DC, to \u201chelp restore law and order\u201d are now tasked with \u201cbeautification projects\u201d such as picking up trash and spreading mulch. These assignments are a misuse of military personnel and resources, trivialize the professionalism of our service members, and damage morale. Diverting military personnel and defense funds to such missions is inconsistent with the Constitution, congressional intent and responsible stewardship of resources entrusted to the Department of Defense (Department).\n\nThese domestic deployments also risk normalizing military involvement in contentious civilian law enforcement, which apart from being deeply contrary to the Constitution, raises serious concerns about the apolitical character of our armed forces and compliance with the Posse Comitatus Act. The Posse Comitatus Act reflects the founding principle\u2014reflected in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments\u2014that separating civilian law enforcement from the military protects both individual liberties and states\u2019 rights. Several federal courts have found no credible evidence that the Administration\u2019s use of the military in this way is justified, finding that conditions on the ground have not reached the high threshold of crisis that merits such a militarized response, especially over the objection of local officials. Further, the Trump Administration\u2019s unprecedented deployment of out-of-state Guard personnel into a non-consenting jurisdiction is a significant overreach of executive power.\n\nAs such, we request that your office conduct an inquiry into these recent domestic deployments of active-duty and National Guard troops to Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Portland; Chicago; and Memphis. As part of that inquiry, we ask that you provide us with responses to the following:", 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://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-colleagues-call-for-investigation-into-domestic-deployment-of-military-in-american-cities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4478678349405527, "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"}