The decisive Republican victory in the 2024 election has given Donald Trump a strong mandate for change.
An overhaul of the federal government is at the top of his list of priorities.
For a long time herogue bureaucrat” The deep state accuses federal officials who protect the public of incompetence at best and corruption at worst.
President Trump plans to reissue 2020 presidential election presidential orderconverting government civil servant protection employees into “Schedule F” employees, which are easier to fire. Trump is also drafting an executive order that would create a review board that would allow him to fire senior military officials and replace them with generals and admirals loyal to him.
Increasing the compliance of civilian bureaucracies impedes the ability of government agencies to perform regulatory functions and provide services. But making the military completely subordinate to the president is downright dangerous.
Such a move would overturn the principle established at the founding of the republic that military personnel must be politically neutral.
The Founders saw how European tyrants used armies to oppress their own people. That's why they didn't want large peacetime armies, relying instead on state militias that could be led by cadres of professional soldiers during wartime.
When President George Washington suppressed Whiskey RebellionIn 1794, he relied on militia forces from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey.
The military expanded dramatically to fight the Civil War, with peak strength reaching 2.6 millionHowever, it was rapidly demobilized thereafter. reconstruction.
By 1890, the number 30,000officers and men.
The army expanded again to fight World War IIn 1918, the population increased to approximately 2.9 million, but by 1923 it had decreased to 247,000.
of world war iiAt its peak, the army's strength reached more than 12 million people.
postwarAlthough the military strength decreased, it never fell below 1.3 million.
todaythe number of troops is about 2.1 million people. Americans have accepted the need for a large professional military, but they have never lost their fear of how it might be used against them.
In 1878 Congress passed: Posse lawprohibited the use of the military to maintain internal security.
To protect political neutrality, the first Congress in 1789 required soldiers to take the following oath: oath“Support the Constitution of the United States.” During the Civil War, Congress changed the wording to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” and in 1959 removed the word “support.”
The current oath also requires employees to “obey the orders of the President of the United States.” Therein lies the friction. What happens when the duty to obey orders conflicts with the duty to uphold the Constitution?
During the first Trump administration, pentagon He opposed the use of military against protesters and supported the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Will the Pentagon, with its supporters, show similar restraint?
President Trump: “We need a general like Hitler'' is said to have said In a closed session at the White House. “They were people who were fiercely loyal to him and followed his orders.”
His campaign denied his comments, but Trump has made it clear he wants a more obedient officer corps anyway. he has I vowed to purge An army he calls “woke” generals. Critics fear the criteria will be used to exclude people he believes are not loyal enough.
The president has the authority to appoint as commander in chief senior officerIt requires “the advice and consent of the Senate,” but this is the same caveat that applies to ministers.
It remains to be seen how willing the Republican-controlled Senate will be to confirm a nominee, no matter how controversial.
The president-elect wasted no time testing the waters,nominatePete Hegseth becomes Secretary of Defense.
The Fox News talk show host is a National Guard veteran with the rank of major or below and has never run a small business, let alone a large federal agency.
According to one veteran, loyalty to trump That seemed to be Hegseth's main qualification. If the Senate approves his nomination, it would signal that he intends to follow the president-elect's other military appointments.
If Trump got the military he wanted, how would he use it? he will definitely send troops southern border The country could also use the military to round up illegal immigrants and deport them, as it did in 2018.
The legal justification for this lies in amendments to the law itself aimed at keeping the military out of internal affairs. In 1981 Congress fixed The Civil Police Law empowers the military to assist in the prevention of drug trafficking. some expert They fear that it could allow for widespread use of the military for civilian law enforcement.
The president-elect's threats to go after people he deems bad actors in the country are particularly troubling. in october fox news interviewWhen asked how the government should deal with post-election violence if Trump wins the election, Trump spoke of “the enemy from within.”
“We have sick people and radical left-wing lunatics,” he declared. “And I think they're the biggest. And they should be dealt with very easily, by the National Guard if necessary, or by the military if it's really necessary, because they can't allow it.” Because I can’t.”
according to some legal expertthe Insurrection Act (passed in 1807 and last amended in 1871) could authorize the use of military within the country.
Article 253 This law authorizes the President to “send the military to suppress national insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful unions, or conspiracies…that oppose or impede the execution of the laws of the United States.” authorized to do so. The nature of justice based on these laws. ”
The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of whether the use of military is legal within the country, but it has shown a willingness to grant broad discretion to the president regarding executive power.
Under these circumstances, we hope that the President will choose his senior officers wisely and that senators of both parties will fulfill their obligation to maintain an apolitical military that has served us so well for more than two centuries. That's all.
Tom Mokaitis is a professor of history at DePaul University and the author of the following books:“Violent Extremism: Understanding the Domestic and International Terrorism Threat. ”
