GOP leader backs Esper on opposing Insurrection Act

Source: The Hill | June 3, 2020 | Alexander Bolton

Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) on Wednesday threw his support behind Defense Secretary Mark Esper after the Pentagon chief said he opposes invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy active U.S. military on American soil to quell protests.

“I think that these tasks ought to be relegated as much as possible to the state and local authorities, the law enforcement and police,” Thune told reporters Wednesday when asked about Esper’s opposition to President Trump possibly invoking the Insurrection Act.

“You got national guard in the states they can activate. I know there are instances in the past where they’ve had to call up active-duty personnel but I think the goal always is to de-escalate, not escalate. So my view is that’s the right call,” he added.

Thune said the U.S. military should maintain its longstanding tradition of staying nonpolitical.

“I think the Defense Department by and large ought to stay out of the political fray. They’ve got a job to do and we count on them heavily to do it,” he said.

Esper said at a news conference earlier Wednesday that regular active-duty troops should not be used for domestic policing jobs.

“I’ve always believed and continue to believe that the National Guard is best suited for performing domestic support to civil authorities in these situations in support of local law enforcement,” he said.

Media outlets reported earlier in the week that Trump was considering invoking the 213-year-old law to restore peace in cities wracked by social unrest, including riots and looting, over the police killing of George Floyd last week in Minneapolis.

The president announced Monday that he would mobilize “all available federal resources, civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights.”

Esper on Wednesday pushed back on Trump’s consideration of the move, arguing that it should only be used as a “last resort.”

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