Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday he is ready to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the police force there.
Lee said he spoke with U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, who told him the military could be requesting states to send troops to the nation’s capital for law enforcement.
“I told him we would be obviously willing to work with them on whatever they needed. The current status, I cannot speak to, but the request … of interest was made, and I expressed interest,” Lee said in a press conference following a groundbreaking for Australian-owned Barrett Firearms south of Murfreesboro.
The governor’s statement provides another example that he is prepared to use Tennessee National Guard personnel for nearly every request the president makes.
Recently, Lee mobilized Guard members to provide backing for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it continues efforts on mass deportation. Guard personnel are to help with paperwork and logistics to give ICE agents more time to concentrate on arresting immigrants who lack documentation for permanent citizenship.
In addition to deportation efforts, Trump ordered the feds to wrest control of the Washington, D.C. police department using National Guard troops in a purported emergency move to cut crime in what he called a “lawless city.” Local officials criticized the move, saying the city has seen a major decrease in crime in the last year.
Under federal law, the president could run the police department for 30 days, though the time frame could be stretched.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole reportedly said federal troops would be “embedded” with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
This story was originally published by the Tennessee Lookout.
