Happy Friday! We are getting close to the 90-day deadline that President Donald Trump set back in January for the secretaries of the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to recommend whether the president should invoke the Insurrection Act to address what he described as an “invasion” of gangs, human traffickers, and criminals at the southern border.
More than 10,000 service members are currently deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prevents federal troops from enforcing civilian laws within the United States. As such, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents accompany troops on patrols to conduct any law enforcement activities.
But the Insurrection Act suspends Posse Comitatus when the country faces a rebellion, political violence, or other major incidents, said Risa Brooks, a political science professor at Marquette University in Wisconsin.
“If the Insurrection Act were invoked by a president, and the secretary of defense ordered it, the military would likely be able to apprehend migrants or clear the streets of protesters,” Brooks said.
President George H.W. Bush last invoked the law in 1992 in response to riots in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers accused of beating motorist Rodney King.
It’s worth noting that invoking the Insurrection Act is not the same as declaring martial law.
“The difference from martial law is that the elected civilians remain in charge and civil law remains — the military are enforcing existing civil law, not making the laws,” said Kori Schake, head of the defense policy team at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington, D.C. “They are legally empowered to behave as police, including to use lethal force to suppress insurrections, riots, and enforce the law.”
As always, there’s plenty more news. Here’s your weekly rundown.
- Army secretary now leading the ATF. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll has been named acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, a Justice Department agency in charge of enforcing federal gun laws and conducting other law enforcement missions. Driscoll replaced Kash Patel, who is currently the director of the FBI. During Trump’s first term, Patel served as chief of staff for Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. It is unclear why Driscoll was named head of the ATF or how exactly he will divide his responsibilities with the Defense and Justice Departments.
- Marine Corps sticks with 13-Marine rifle squads. After years of tinkering with the size of rifle squads, the Marine Corps has settled on 13-Marine formations. One Marine in each squad will be an expert in “precision fires,” such as loitering munitions and drones. “This extends the range and increases the lethality of our Marine infantry squads and platoons,” said Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, a spokesman for Combat Development & Integration.
- Army cutting parachutist positions. In a major restructuring of its airborne units, the Army plans to recode nearly 20,000 parachutist positions so that soldiers in those billets will no longer have to maintain their jump status, Army Times first reported. The move would represent a reduction of roughly 35% of all Army parachutist positions. Soldiers in the re-coded billets would no longer receive jump pay.
- “Fix the damn rust.” Navy Secretary John Phelan has reiterated that he has a mandate from the president to get surface vessels in ship shape. Phelan said Trump has told him several times to “fix the damn rust,” echoing his testimony during his Feb. 27 confirmation hearing. For years, pictures shared on social media have shown U.S. Navy ships covered with rust, such as one photo of the destroyer USS Dewey in February when it arrived in Singapore.
- Air Force eliminates “family days.” The Department of the Air Force is no longer allowing airmen and Space Force Guardians to take extra days off during the 11 annual federal holidays, often referred to as “family days.” Acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth wrote in an April 7 memo that granting extra time off around the holidays “does not support our ability to execute the mission with excellence while maintaining our competitive advantage.”
- Why some ailing veterans aren’t covered by the PACT Act. Advocates are warning Congress that a law that has expanded healthcare for veterans exposed to toxins does not go far enough. The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, known as the PACT Act, has some notable coverage gaps for troops and their families who live at bases where they are exposed to toxic substances, one veterans advocate said during a recent roundtable on Capitol Hill. Veterans and spouses who are not covered by the PACT Act talked about how they’ve suffered from cancer and other illnesses due to radiation, fuel spills, and chemical contaminations on stateside U.S. military bases.
That’s all a lot to process for one week. Stay tuned for more developments.
Jeff Schogol