WATCH: Padilla Warns Trump’s National Guard Deployments Put U.S. National Security at Risk

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) questioned Major General William L. Enyart, the former commander of Illinois' National Guard, on President Trump's escalating militarization of American cities, including his unlawful attempts to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities against local leadership's objections. Padilla's questioning at today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing comes after President Trump recently ordered the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago and Portland to facilitate immigration enforcement despite their governors' explicit opposition and ongoing court challenges.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth violated federal law through their unprecedented deployment of active-duty U.S. Marines and California National Guard members to Los Angeles in response to largely peaceful demonstrations. Yet as Trump continues to unilaterally militarize cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Portland, Padilla called Trump's ongoing military deployments a "fundamental threat to democratic norms and the separation of powers between states and the federal government."

General Enyart emphasized that the vast majority of National Guard troops are not trained in civilian law enforcement, and that the military's mission is to defend the nation from foreign threats, not to police American streets. As Trump also orders deployments to Republican-led states like Louisiana and Tennessee, Padilla and General Enyart warned of the consequences of diverting money, military resources, and troops away from defending America's national security and responding to natural disasters.

Key Excerpts

• PADILLA: General Enyart, as someone who commanded the Illinois National Guard, how do you view the danger of using Guard units or even active-duty service members in cities like Los Angeles and Portland and Washington D.C. for local law enforcement efforts?

• ENYART: Thank you, Senator. Well, as a commander of National Guard forces, former commander of National Guard forces, you need to understand that National Guard forces are not trained law enforcement officers. We may have a few police officers in our ranks who just happen to be cops in civilian life, but the vast majority of National Guardsmen and, for that matter, the active-duty forces, are not police officers, and MP units are trained in military response, military law, not civilian law enforcement. So it is a hazard.

• PADILLA: Given that, what risks do we face if the executive branch normalizes or the Republican majority in Congress allows the executive branch to normalize unilateral use of troops in American cities?

• ENYART: Well, there's, you know, there's clearly going to be a disconnect between American citizenry and the American military. The American military is designed to protect us from foreign enemies. … It's designed to protect us, not to police our streets. That's what civilian law enforcement is for, and there are plenty of federal law enforcement agencies that can provide that response.

• PADILLA: Thank you. And one last question, I know my time is running out quickly here, having learned from this experience in Los Angeles, which was clearly the test case for this Administration, I have a concern about our national readiness. From a readiness standpoint, what does it mean when military resources are diverted from national defense and disaster response to conduct police civilian activities?

• ENYART: Every dollar that you take away from or that you spend on a on a misuse of military force is a dollar that you don't have available for national defense, a dollar you don't have available to respond to the next Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, or the next Mississippi River flood, or the next tornado in St Louis. So it's spending resources that need to be allocated to where they're properly allocated, and that's to the defense of our great nation and to recovery from national disasters.

Video of the full exchange is available here.

Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in opposition to President Trump's militarization of Los Angeles and other American cities. In June, Padilla led the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in demanding that President Trump immediately withdraw all military forces from Los Angeles and cease all threats to deploy the National Guard or active-duty service members to American cities. Earlier this month, Padilla, Schiff, and 17 other Senate Democrats filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the lawsuit brought against President Trump for his misuse of the U.S. military in Los Angeles. Padilla and Schiff also recently demanded the U.S. Department of Defense provide information on operational details related to the ongoing deployment of California National Guard personnel in Los Angeles, first federalized by President Trump on June 9.

After the Trump Administration deployed National Guard troops across Washington, D.C. and took control of the city's police department, Padilla supported legislation granting the District full authority over the D.C. National Guard and the Metropolitan Police Department. Additionally, Padilla recently introduced bicameral legislation to enhance oversight and accountability of the President's deployment of the National Guard. Padilla previously placed a hold on Trump's nominee to serve as vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, Lieutenant General Thomas Carden, until the Trump Administration releases all remaining U.S. military forces from their unjustified deployment to Los Angeles.