Dear John,
Let’s be clear: If Congress authorizes Trump’s sham “crime” bill to give him permanent authority over law enforcement in Washington DC, it won’t stop there.
This would hand him a legal template to override local governments anywhere in the country — and once Congress authorizes it, the courts will be powerless to stop him.
Trump has already been testing these tactics, seeking to use them more broadly. In his first term, he sent militarized agents to Portland to abduct protesters. In his second term, militarized ICE raids have disappeared thousands of migrants into secret prisons, and he deployed thousands of National Guard and Marines into Los Angeles to suppress peaceful protests.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is challenging Trump’s invasion of Los Angeles as a blatant violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, and courts are likely to rule for Newsom and against Trump — but their hands will be tied if Congress simply hands the power over to him anyway.
The Washington Post reports the Pentagon is planning to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago as soon as this week — possibly even by the time you read this email. Despite significant declines in violent crime, Trump has set his sights on the city.
But Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker knows his constituents best. He says Chicagoans don’t want their neighborhoods “turned into a war zone by a wannabe dictator. Ask if they’d like to pass through a checkpoint with unidentified officers in masks while taking their kids to school.”
Send a direct message to Congress: Tell them to reject Trump’s demand to extend the Washington DC takeover beyond 30 days, and to deny any attempt to give him the same power nationwide now.
That is the danger of this bill. It would not only make Trump’s DC takeover permanent, it would give him legal cover to send federal troops into any city, at any time, beyond the reach of judicial review.
If Congress passes it, Washington DC won’t be the exception — it will be the model for a nationwide police state.
Let’s not deceive ourselves: Trump looks determined to deploy troops into American cities whether it’s legal or not. But as long as he acts outside the law, the courts can still strike him down — as California’s lawsuit over his flagrant violation of the Posse Comitatus Act is likely to prove.
There’s a very real danger of Congress handing him a stamp of legitimacy. If lawmakers give Trump explicit authority through this so-called “crime bill,” the courts will be stripped of their ability to intervene, and his lawless actions will suddenly become “lawful.” That’s why taking action now is absolutely critical.
Even if Trump seems unstoppable, the truth is he’s not — unless we surrender by allowing Congress to make his abuses legal.
Tell Congress: Reject Trump’s authoritarian power grab before it’s too late. If Congress fails to deny Trump this authority, the courts will be stripped of their only tool to block his lawless deployments.
Thank you for standing up against this armed invasion of our cities and states.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
