No law enforcement role for military in US cities, ex-Veep Pence says in Boston stop
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that federal law makes clear that there's no law enforcement role for the U.S. military personnel that President Donald Trump has, or will dispatch, to cities around the country.
"You know, we've got a longstanding policy, Posse Comitatus, that does not permit the use of the American military against the American people," Pence, who was Trump's No. 2 during his first term, told reporters after an appearance in Boston.
Pence was referring to a nearly 150-year-old federal statute that bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement, except when explicitly authorized by law, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice.
Pence's remarks at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Dorchester came after he participated in a panel discussion on the need for civility in politics.
They also came one day after Trump, addressing a roomful of the nation's military leaders, suggested that American cities, most controlled by Democrats, could be used as training grounds for U.S. forces.
In a muscular and norm-shattering speech, Trump also suggested to his audience of military brass that U.S. forces might be needed to fight what he described as an "invasion from within," The Associated Press reported.
Speaking to reporters after the panel discussion moderated by Meghan McCain, the daughter of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the Vietnam war hero whom Trump derided a decade ago , Pence suggested that there could be a limited role for the military.
"We have federal facilities in cities around the country. Our Marine Corps has a long tradition of providing security at our embassies around the world," Pence said. "And so I think it's altogether appropriate to use federal military personnel to protect federal facilities where they're under threat."
This week, Trump deployed Oregon National Guard soldiers to that state's largest city, Portland, describing it as a "never-ending" disaster, according to The Hill .
The 60-day deployment, which comes over the objections of state and local officials, is expected to cost federal taxpayers at least $3.8 million, Oregon Public Radio reported .
Trump has justified the deployment, saying it's needed to protect federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel from protesters.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Pence said he would "fully expect the administration to work within the confines of the Constitution, [to] work with governors, in terms of the deployment of National Guard."
Trump deployed active duty military and National Guard forces to Los Angeles earlier this year. Last month, a federal judge declared that National Guard deployment was illegal.
Trump has floated the idea of sending soldiers to other American cities, including Chicago and Memphis, which also have Democratic mayors. They, too, have protested any such deployment.
On Monday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu pushed back hard against a similar deployment to the city.
"We do not need and do not want militarization in our city," the Democratic mayor told reporters after an unrelated event at City Hall.
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