Hegseth’s National Guard Expansion into American Cities is a Gross Showcase of Power, Waste of Taxpayer Money
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pentagon announced today more than 23,000 troops across the country are being readied and trained for civil unrest missions in U.S. cities, in new “quick reaction forces.”
Public Citizen Co-President Lisa Gilbert issued the following statement:
“The ‘quick reaction force’ plan is nothing less than the creation of standing forces designed to clamp down on dissent and frighten Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights. Every American should quake at this announcement and Congress, on a bipartisan basis, should cancel it before it starts.
“At the same moment when the administration is refusing to make funds available to provide food assistance to millions of working families, elderly and children on the brink of losing SNAP benefits this weekend and refusing to extend the ACA subsidies to ensure our healthcare, it is unconscionable that Pete Hegseth and the Trump Administration have announced plans to waste taxpayer money on “quick reaction forces” – 23,000 troops on call to meet imaginary needs.
“Today’s announcement is yet another reason why Congress should not allocate any more money to Pete Hegseth’s already bloated Pentagon.”