Vermont plans to join a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops against protesters in Los Angeles, state Attorney General Charity Clark said Tuesday.
In recent days, Trump has sent several thousand National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests that are opposing his immigration and deportation policies.
Clark called the deployment “unconstitutional" in an interview. She said it is very clear that Trump does not have the legal authority to deploy these troops unless there has been a rebellion or invasion — and that this authority rests solely with the governor of a state.
“Each state is a sovereign state. We have a system of rules. We have a system of law, and when the Trump administration violates that system, what they're doing is being un-American. And this is truly beyond the pale,” Clark said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has strongly opposed the deployment, and the state has sued the Trump administration in response.
Gov. Phil Scott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Asked Friday whether it had received any requests to deploy National Guard troops for immigration enforcement purposes — something the Trump administration is considering — the governor’s office said it had not.
“Given staffing constraints, the impact of pulling Guard members out of their civilian jobs, and the need to maintain operations here in Vermont, it’s highly unlikely that Vermont would be positioned to fulfill a request such as this,” wrote Scott’s press secretary, Amanda Wheeler, in an email.
Howard Weiss-Tisman contributed reporting.
