JUST IN: Senator John Thune Says He’s Not Sure What Authority Trump Is Using To Deploy Marines To Los Angeles – The Hill
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) supports President Trump’s use of federal resources to subdue the Los Angeles riots, he remains unsure of the authority Trump is citing for deploying 700 active-duty Marines within a U.S. city.
“I don’t know the particulars on what authorities exist there, but my assumption is that the administration has been looking carefully at what he can and can’t do under the law. Obviously, the 1798 Act is available to them if they choose to exercise it,” Thune said, citing the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which authorizes the president during a declared war, invasion, or predatory incursion to detain and deport citizens of an enemy nation.
Thune argued that a federal response was warranted because local authorities failed to contain property destruction and the threat of violence.
“In this case at least there were clear just failures on the part of state and local officials, which is why I think it required the president to take a federal response,” he told reporters. “There was a security situation out there that needed to be addressed and I think ultimately the president’s objective is to keep people safe.”
