* NPR…

For the first time since President Trump controversially deployed the National Guard to the nation’s capital last year, several Democratic governors have sent members of their respective guards to the city.

Kentucky and North Carolina began the trend in recent weeks, each sending just a single guard member as D.C. readied for America 250 celebrations. Michigan then sent more than 100 last week, and Minnesota followed suit with 107 earlier this week, according to numbers made public by the D.C. Joint Task Force, which is coordinating Trump’s deployment in the city. […]

But these are the first troops sent from states led by Democrats, leading many legal experts who have been watching Trump’s deployment in D.C. to wonder whether those guard members will participate in the routine – and controversial – neighborhood patrols and overall militarized feeling of the nation’s capital that has become a trademark of this administration. Democrats have largely opposed the president’s deployment to the city. […]

When contacted by NPR, spokespeople for each respective governor’s office made it clear that their guard members were sent to help with the influx of crowds expected for America 250 celebrations taking place in the city this summer, not for law enforcement purposes as part of the larger ongoing federal Joint Task Force operation.

But troops from all four Democratic-led states are listed as part of the official federal Joint Task Force numbers released to the public.

When asked about the one Kentucky guard member on that list, Scottie Ellis, communications director for Gov. Andy Beshear, said that designation was against the governor’s wishes. […]

“There might be a mix-up here,” wrote Bobby Leddy, communications director for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in an email to NPR when presented with the list. “The Michigan National Guard are deployed only to support the America 250th celebration activities, not for the Joint Task Force mission.”

* Jon Steinman from ProtectDemocracy.com yesterday…

Hi Rich,

With National Guard troops on Washington, D.C. streets for over a year and state governors considering sending additional forces, 19 former service secretaries and retired general and flag officers sent a letter of thanks to Illinois’ Governor today for refusing to deploy Guard members to the nation’s capital.

The governors of Michigan, Minnesota, and North Carolina have collectively deployed hundreds of Guard troops under the expectation they will assist with America 250 events, according to media reports. But the Administration’s expanding use of Guard forces promises to stretch far behind the narrow mission of helping safeguard the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations –– and represents an affront to our longstanding military tradition of keeping the military out of domestic law enforcement and politics out of the military.

“Over the past 250 years, a non-partisan military has been a bedrock of American democracy,” the former national security leaders wrote to Gov. Pritzker. “Your abstention from the D.C. deployment is an honorable tribute to those who founded our nation and the men and women in uniform who have fought to defend it ever since.”

* From the letter…

Dear Governor Pritzker,

The undersigned are 19 retired senior defense and military leaders who served under presidents of both parties. Based upon our roles promoting the strength of the military and protecting U.S. national security, we are concerned that several states that have previously objected to the Administration’s domestic National Guard operations have recently deployed troops to Washington, D.C. We applaud your prudence in keeping the Illinois National Guard out of our capital at this time. […

By requiring that Guard personnel engage in routine local policing functions throughout the District, the operation also represents a troubling departure from the settled tradition of separating military personnel from domestic law enforcement, with some orders placing Guardsmen at the center of issues of public controversy. Coupled with the overtly political actions of senior Administration leaders and intense local opposition, the negative impact on morale is apparent.

Bringing more troops into this setting – especially in the absence of any clear security need – would only exacerbate these corrosive trends. Attempts by some state leaders to pre-emptively limit the activities of their deployed troops are well-intended, but do not reflect the unpredictable ways that on-the-ground conditions can evolve and the reality that the Joint Task Force retains operational control over security in the District.

Over the past 250 years, a non-partisan military has been a bedrock of American democracy. Your abstention from the D.C. deployment is an honorable tribute to those who founded our nation and the men and women in uniform who have fought to defend it ever since.

* Signatories…

Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall III
General Michael V . Hayden, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Admiral William A. Owens, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Donald C. Arthur, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Michael T. Franken, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Major General Richard T. Devereaux, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Irving L. Halter, Jr., U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Steven J. Lepper, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Randy E. Manner, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Major General Frederick H. Martin, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Major General Gale S. Pollock, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Major General Linda Singh, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Major General F. Andrew Turley, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Rear Admiral (Lower Half) James A. Barnett, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Brigadier General Steven M. Anderson, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Brigadier General John W. Douglass, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Brigadier General Robert J. Felderman, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Brigadier General Joseph V . Medina, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)

* I asked the governor’s office for a response…

President Trump has attempted to deploy military troops against peaceful American communities, politicize the brave men and women serving in the National Guard, and use America 250 as his own political project. Gov. Pritzker joins millions of Americans celebrating our nation’s history, including through the Illinois America 250 Commission activities, but he respects our service members and will always try to prevent them from being used for Trump’s political agenda.