WASHINGTON — Democratic veterans in Congress accuse President Donald Trump of weakening the U.S. military by deploying soldiers in Los Angeles for political reasons.
Many Democrats also fear Trump’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines in California is just the beginning, especially because city and state leaders don’t want such forces on their streets.
“It's absolutely illegal, and a misuse of our military with the National Guard,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Army veteran, told Raw Story. “Bypassing the governor means that they're federalized. So that's a real problem.”
With the economic outlook still shaky amid Trump’s tariff war and with much of his agenda stalled as Senate Republicans overhaul the House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” package of cuts to tax and programs including Medicaid, Democrats are bracing for a summer of ICE-induced unrest.
‘Two hours of training’
To veterans like Duckworth, there’s no question that U.S. servicemembers can quell civil unrest. The question is, should they?
“Yes, they can do the job. Yes, Marines are perfectly fit, but … they get two hours of training annually on civil disobedience enforcement, yet Los Angeles police officers get 600 hours,” Duckworth said.
“So why are we putting people on the ground that have far less training than people who already know the area?”
One of a record nine female veterans serving in the 119th Congress, Duckworth, who lost both legs as an Illinois Army National Guard helicopter pilot in Iraq, says having heavily armed Marines patrol American streets will have repercussions both for the young soldiers and communities to which they deploy.
“I worry about what this is going to do to, you know, the mental health of our Marines who are being told, ‘You gotta now do this on American soil,’ and what is it gonna do for the trust of Americans for our Marines?” Duckworth said. “So I have some concerns.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is one of 13 former Marines in Congress. He fears deploying the military to quell protests against Trump’s mass deportation efforts will backfire — unless the goal is more unrest.
“I think it is unnecessary to use troops,” Blumenthal told Raw Story. “It is potentially dangerous and is inflammatory, rather than calming. And also a potential damage to civil rights.”
The president and his Republican allies argue Democratic governors, mayors and members of Congress are doing all they can to derail Trump’s deportation agenda, which is why they say federal forces are needed to protect ICE agents during immigration raids.
“We have law enforcement, we have National Guard to keep this nation and American citizens safe,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), a former chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told Raw Story.
“Unfortunately, you've got Democrat governors and mayors who apparently don't have much interest in keeping people safe. And you have Democrat politicians who are basically inciting the protests, which turn into violence.”
Democrats reject that charge. Some who came to Washington from state government are appalled to see the Trump administration interfere in local matters, which they say will have lasting consequences for National Guard forces.
“As a former mayor and governor, I spent a lot of time with the Guard, and it is a very finely crafted partnership of centuries between president, governors, Guardsmen and women,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told Raw Story.
“You screw it up and you start to use the Guard as a bludgeon rather than as a partner, the downstream effects of that are going to be very, very negative.”
Kaine sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, one of the most bipartisan panels on Capitol Hill.
“It's egregious overreach,” Kaine said. “And it is really essentially unprecedented for the president to do this, even with the Guard, without a request by the governor.”
Gavin Newsom, the California governor and a potential contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, has expressed strong opposition to Trump over events in LA.
Kaine continued: “In fact, Trump himself said [five] years ago he couldn't do this without a request by the governor, so to do it without a request and over the governor's objection … I think most people see it for what it is: it's a political snipe.”
“It seems to be testing the Supreme Court?” Raw Story pressed.
“It is,” Kaine said.
‘Retribution’
With Trump testing the bounds of presidential power, Democrats are bracing for him to deploy the military in other blue states.
“Oh, I think they'd like nothing better than to provoke confrontations around the country over immigration,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told Raw Story.
“I don't think it was necessary to send the Guard in [to LA]. Adding Marines to that seems nonsensical and an abuse of the military for the political agenda of the president.”
Schiff and others say Trump is not serving the people.
“Their tariff agenda is a failure,” Schiff said. “They've got internal divisions over their ‘great, big ugly bill’ and, certainly, what they're doing in LA indicates they have no interest in what the state or the city or the county or the public want.
“Their interest is inflaming people and provoking a confrontation.”
Veterans in the California delegation say it’s sad to watch the president play politics with the military.
“This is about retribution, it's about provocation and it's about distraction,” Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), a former Naval reservist, told reporters this week.
“It's about retribution, because Donald Trump does not like California. He doesn't like our policies. He does not like our politics.
“But you know what? That's okay, because clearly, based on the election, California does not like the narcissistic personality of Donald Trump, and we clearly do not like his politics.”
Candace Taggart contributed to this report.