‘QUELLING CIVIL DISTURBANCES AND ENSURING THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND ORDER’: One of the knocks against President Donald Trump’s use of federalized National Guard troops to beef up his crackdown on crime and enforcement of immigration law is that soldiers are not trained in criminal law and crowd control.
One of the executive orders signed by Trump yesterday seeks to correct that by mandating training and equipping units within the Guard, beginning with the District of Columbia and then extending to all 50 states. “The Secretary of Defense shall ensure the availability of a standing National Guard quick reaction force that shall be resourced, trained, and available for rapid nationwide deployment.”
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Guard troops under state control are exempt from the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which bars federal troops from engaging in law enforcement, and is the basis of the long-standing core principle of “keeping military power separate from civilian governance.” Bringing a “large, federally controlled military force into Washington and using it for civilian law enforcement … is exactly what the Posse Comitatus Act is meant to prevent,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
The Trump administration has said the Guard troops are “assisting” police and federal law enforcement agencies by protecting federal property and creating a presence that “deters crime.”
Yesterday, Trump said it was working like a charm. “You saw the gang of kids. They were all huddled up, and a group of soldiers walked up … Those kids ran back to their homes or wherever the hell they came from. They were gone,” Trump said. “This is one of the safest cities right now in the world.”
TRUMP ORDERS CREATION OF NATIONAL GUARD ‘QUICK REACTION FORCE’ FOR ‘RAPID’ DEPLOYMENT
‘MR. PRESIDENT, DO NOT COME TO CHICAGO’: In Democratic states, mayors and governors are pushing back, arguing that Trump’s “crime emergency” — at a time when crime rates in blue states are dropping — is merely a pretense to intimidate anyone who would oppose his policies.
“I don’t believe that troops should be policing American cities,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, when asked how she felt about armed soldiers on the streets of the capital.
“There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention. There is no insurrection. Like every major American city in both blue and red states, we deal with crime,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) said in a fiery speech yesterday. “This is not about fighting crime. This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try and intimidate his political rivals.”
“Indeed, the violent crime rate is worse in red states and red cities,” Pritzker said. “Thirteen of the top 20 cities in homicide rate have Republican governors. None of these cities is Chicago. Eight of the top ten states with the highest homicide rates are led by Republicans. None of those states is Illinois. Memphis, Tennessee. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, have higher crime rates than Chicago. And yet Donald Trump is sending troops here.”
In his Oval Office executive order signing session yesterday, Trump vacillated over whether Chicago, which he called “a killing field,” would be the next to see federal troops patrolling the city. “We may wait. We may or may not. We may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do.” Trump said. “The problem is it’s not nice when you go in and do it and somebody else is standing there, saying, ‘Well, we don’t want the military in.’”
Pritzker could not have been clearer that Trump’s troops are not welcome in the Windy City: “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here.”
PRITZKER TELLS TRUMP ‘DO NOT COME’ TO CHICAGO
‘THAT IS HOW DICTATORS COME TO POWER’: The rhetoric has become very heated, with Trump’s detractors portraying him as a power-hungry dictator. “You could put a soldier in every square mile and reduce this country to have zero crime. I read the book 1984. That’s what they did there,” former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), a military veteran and former Air National Guard member, said on CNN. “That is how dictators come to power. It’s how authoritarians come to power on the backs of safety and security.”
“This is about limiting protests by stopping people from peacefully protesting anything that the Trump administration wants to do,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said on CNN. “It’s one more step towards creating a full-on police state in which the ICE agents, the largest single police force in America, is joined now with the military in our city, Washington, as well as Los Angeles, for the purpose, I believe, of stopping peaceful protests, of cowering the citizens of the United States, preventing the citizens from speaking out.”
It is “incredible that the Democrats wouldn’t be with us,” Trump said. “And they say … ‘He’s a dictator. He’s a dictator.’ A lot of people are saying maybe we’d like a dictator. I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator; I’m a man with great common sense, and I’m a smart person. And when I see what’s happening to our cities, and then you send in troops, instead of being praised, they’re saying, ‘You’re trying to take over the republic.’ These people are sick.”
TRUMP: ‘I REALLY WANT TO BE APPRECIATED’ FOR NATIONAL GUARD CRIME CRACKDOWN
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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BURN A FLAG, GO TO DIRECTLY TO JAIL: Just hours after President Trump signed an executive order criminalizing the burning of the American flag in protest, a megaphone-toting self-described combat veteran did just that in the park across the street from the White House.
Trump acknowledged that the 1989 Supreme Court ruling protected flag-burning as a form of freedom of expression, but to get around that, he has redefined flag-burning as the same as “fighting words” that are “uniquely offensive and provocative” that could be seen as incitement to riot. “It is a statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation,” the order said.
“When you burn the American flag, it incites riots at levels that we’ve never seen before. People go crazy,” he said. “There are some that are going crazy for doing it, there are others that are angry about them doing it.”
While the Constitutionally-questionable order does not spell out a penalty for desecrating the American flag, Trump said flag burners will be put behind bars. “If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail, no early exits, no nothing. You get one year in jail.”
In the 1989 case, Justice William Brennan, writing for the 5-4 majority, said flag burning constitutes a form of “symbolic speech” protected by the First Amendment. The majority, which included conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, noted that “freedom of speech protects actions that society may find very offensive, but society’s outrage alone is not justification for suppressing free speech.”
As for the flag-burner arrested yesterday, it is unclear what he would have been charged with. Perhaps disturbing the peace, or creating fire hazard.
THE NAVY HAS A CNO AGAIN: Six months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti without a reason, the Navy has a confirmed top admiral again.
Adm. Daryl Caudle was sworn in as the 34th chief of naval operations in a ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard yesterday.
“The sailor will be front and center in my vision throughout my tenure as CNO — hands down, no exception,” Caudle said. “To ensure that they are ready to fight and win decisively — today, tomorrow, and well into the future — we will view everything we do we through an operational lens focused on three priorities: the foundry, the fleet, and the way we fight.”
TRUMP BACK ON THE WAR DEPARTMENT KICK: Once again, Trump is waxing nostalgic for the good old days when the Defense Department went by the more muscular name, “The War Department.” Of course, the United States was engaged in a great world war then.
But Trump wants the old name back because “defense” sounds too wimpy. “Somehow, it didn’t sound good to me, you know? It didn’t sound good. Defense. Why are we defense? So it used to be called the Department of War, and it had a stronger sound,” Trump said. “We won World War I. We won World War II. We won everything. Now, we have a Department of Defense. We’re defenders.”
“I think ‘Department of War’ — it just sounded better,” Trump said. I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense, too, if that’s OK.”
“Department of War, we won everything. We won everything, and I think we’re going to have to go back to that,” Trump added.
“That’s common sense, sir,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
TRUMP AND HEGSETH LOOK TO RENAME DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AS ‘DEPARTMENT OF WAR’
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump orders creation of National Guard ‘quick reaction force’ for ‘rapid’ deployment
Washington Examiner: Trump: ‘I really want to be appreciated’ for National Guard crime crackdown
Washington Examiner: Pritzker tells Trump ‘do not come’ to Chicago
Washington Examiner: Wes Moore’s one-word response to Trump claiming he called him ‘greatest president’ of his life
Washington Examiner: Coast Guard offloads more than 75,000 pounds of drugs interdicted in Central American waters
Washington Examiner: South Korean president asks Trump to ‘usher in a new era of peace’ with North Korea
Washington Examiner: Trump warns we ‘can’t do business’ in South Korea without changes
Washington Examiner: Trump honors Abbey Gate Gold Star families on anniversary with proclamation
Washington Examiner: Trump and Hegseth look to rename Defense Department as ‘Department of War’
Washington Examiner: IDF chief says hostage deal ‘on the table’ but in ‘Netanyahu’s hands’
Washington Examiner: Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills over a dozen people, including multiple journalists
Washington Examiner: Trump promised to deport a million illegal immigrants in his first year. Can he do it?
Washington Examiner: Ukraine and Poland face rift over proposed ban on Ukrainian nationalist symbols
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan: Trump’s flag desecration order would make Europe proud
Washington Examiner: John Bolton: Trump’s utterly incoherent Ukraine strategy
DefenseScoop: Adm. Caudle Sworn In as Chief of Naval Operations
Wall Street Journal: Inside the Cockpit of Ukraine’s Secretive Unit Hunting Russian Drones
Air & Space Forces Magazine: M18 Pistol Is Back in Action at Air Force Global Strike Command—with a Twist
Breaking Defense: Doug Beck Out as DIU Chief
Air & Space Forces Magazine: KC-46 Boom Blamed for 3 Refueling Mishaps
Aviation Week: US Navy’s Aviation Forces Eagerly Await F/A-XX Downselect
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New F-35 Engine Contract Puts Fighter’s Price Tag Over $100M
Defense News: York Delivers 21 Satellites for Space Development Agency Launch
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Wraps Up Massive Monthlong Pacific Exercise
Breaking Defense: After Chinese Ships Ram Each Other, Concern over Dangerous Encounters in South China Sea
Air Force Times: Space Force Seeks ‘Talent Scout’ Assistance from Washington Nationals
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | AUGUST 26
8 a.m. 7920 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Virginia — Potomac Officers Club Navy Summit, with Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare Vice Adm. Karl Thomas; Navy CTO Justin Fanelli; Vice Adm. Brad Skillman, deputy chief of naval operations for integration of capabilities and resources; Navy CIO Jane Rathbun delivers closing remarks https://www.potomacofficersclub.com/events/2025-navy-summit/
10 a.m. — Arab Center Washington, D.C. virtual discussion: “What Comes Next in Gaza?” with Yara Asi, assistant professor, University of Central Florida’s School of Global Health Management and Informatics and non-resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington, D.C.; Diana Buttu, Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and analyst and former spokesperson for the Palestinian Liberation Organization; Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of Jadaliyya; Jeremy Scahill, investigative journalist and co-founder of Drop Site News; and Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine/Israel Program and senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington, D.C. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies Defense and Security Department and the U.S. Naval Institute or a Maritime Security Dialogue virtual and in-person discussion: “The Future of Naval Aviation,” with Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander, Naval Air Forces and commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in conversation with retired Rear Adm. Raymond Spicer, chief executive officer and publisher, U.S. Naval Institute https://www.csis.org/events/future-naval-aviation-conversation-vadm-cheever
12 p.m. — New America virtual book discussion: The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, with author Seth Harp, 2025 fellow of New America; and Mike Giglio, author, filmmaker and 2022 fellow of New America https://www.newamerica.org/fellows/events/the-fort-bragg-cartel/
WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 27
8 a.m. 801 Allen Y. Lew Place NW — National Defense Industrial Association Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition, with Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering; Janet Wolfson, deputy assistant Air Force secretary for science, technology and engineering; Jeremy Andrews, director of science, technology and engineering, Space Force; Gillian Bussey, deputy chief science officer, Space Force; John Garstka, director of cyber warfare at the Office of the Principal Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Industrial Base Policy, and Navy Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff https://www.ndiatechexpo.org/
9 a.m. 11493 Sunset Hills Dr., Reston, Virginia — Government Executive Media Group’s NextGov/Federal Computer Week Defense One and Route Fifty “Quantum Summit.” with Edward Mays, deputy assistant commissioner for infrastructure and support services at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Information Technology; Charles Tahan, former assistant director of quantum information science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Garfield Jones, associate chief of strategic technology at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency https://events.nextgov.com/quantum-summit/
9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “What Happened at the Trump-Lee Summit?” with retired Army Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, United Nations Command, and ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command; Victor Cha, Korea chair and president of the CSIS Foreign Policy Department; Mark Lippert, CSIS non-resident senior adviser and Korea chair; and Philip Luck, international business chair and director, CSIS Economics Program http://www.csis.org
10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Nuclear Deterrence,” with Air Force Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/events/lt-gen-andrew-gebara/
8 p.m. — Jews United for Democracy and Justice virtual discussion: “War, Peace and the American Future: Insights From a Former Chair, Joint Chiefs of Staff,” with retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, former Joint Chiefs chairman; and Warren Olney, former host and executive producer, “To The Point” https://www.jewsunitedfordemocracy.org/blog/event/august-27-mike-mullen
THURSDAY | AUGUST 28
8 a.m. Washington Convention Center — National Defense Industrial Association Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition, August 27-29, with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine; Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander, U.S. European Command; Casey Deering, acting deputy assistant Defense secretary for nuclear matters; Air Force Lt. Col. Jared Bindi, chief of science, tech and innovation at the U.S. Africa Command; and Michael Duffey, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment https://www.ndiatechexpo.org/
8 a.m 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group breakfast conversation: “Assessing China’s Upcoming Parade-Extravaganza for the People’s Liberation Army,” with Mark Cozad and Timothy Heath, senior international defense researchers at RAND [email protected]
FRIDAY | AUGUST 29
8 a.m. Washington Convention Center — National Defense Industrial Association Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition, with former Rep. William “Mac” Thornberry (R-TX), chairman of the Emerging Technologies Institute Advisory Board; Michael Holthe, acting assistant secretary of defense for science and technology at the Office of Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Julia Torrence, acting director, Joint Production Accelerator Cell at the Office of the Defense Undersecretary for Acquisition and Sustainment https://www.ndiatechexpo.org/
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar, 10 a.m., on “Nuclear Crossroads: Iran, Deterrence, and the Future of Nonproliferation,” with Chris Ford, professor of international relations and strategic studies at Missouri State University https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/nuclear-crossroads-iran-deterrence
10:30 a.m. — The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event to release a policy paper: “Disconnected by Design: Fifth- and Sixth-Generation Aircraft in Disaggregated Collaborative Air Operations,” with retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies; J. Michael Dahm, senior fellow for aerospace and China studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies; and retired Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, former commander, U.S. European Command and NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe https://afa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2
3 p.m. Senate Chamber — Senate meets to resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.2296, the “National Defense Authorization Act.” At approximately 5:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2296. http://www.senate.gov