Twenty-one Democrats in the Senate are warning Pentagon officials against the “inappropriate” use of the military to deal with violence stemming from protests over the death of George Floyd.
Politico is reporting the senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley. The letter was spearheaded by Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
"We urge you to refrain from using the United States military to diminish or suppress the peaceful, free expression of Americans who are exercising their civil liberties in a call to hold government institutions to a higher standard in the fight for racial justice," the senators wrote.
"We believe strongly in a healthy civil-military relationship. The inappropriate use of U.S. federal military personnel in this context could result in irrevocable damage to our nation."
President Donald Trump had threatened to send military forces to cities and states that fail to curb violence linked to some protests.
But Esper on Wednesday broke with Trump and said he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy forces.
"The National Guard is best suited for performing domestic support to civil authorities in these situations in support of local law enforcement,” Esper said.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.