Donald Trump has federalized the Washington, D.C. police and deployed National Guard troops to the city. Trump is arguing that the deployment is in response to a crisis in public safety.
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Any president in the last 40 years could have declared the same emergency in the district and deployed troops. Trump’s move is perfectly legal under the authority granted by the district’s Home Rule statute. But Trump’s pledge to federalize the police forces of other cities like Chicago, Oakland, and Baltimore will be met with a blizzard of court challenges, given that the president cannot unilaterally send federal troops or federal law enforcement to a city without being invited. That’s federalism, and Trump can’t do anything about it.
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Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser claims
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