November 3, 2022–Due Process Institute and a coalition of organizations with diverse political perspectives urged Senators to support three provisions in the House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7900). Together, these provisions would address dangerous gaps in the laws that govern domestic deployment of the military. They would (1) reform the outdated command structure of the District of Columbia National Guard; (2) ensure that interstate deployments of the National Guard under Title 32 of the United States Code are carried out in accordance with the Constitution; and (3) codify an exclusionary rule that would establish a practical mechanism for enforcing the Posse Comitatus Act. In addition, we encourage the Senate to pass an amendment to Section 329 of Title 32 that would prohibit privately funded deployments of the National Guard.
Furthermore, none of the above reforms would prevent presidents from lawfully exercising the powers Congress has granted them to deploy the military to provide disaster relief, suppress insurrections, or enforce civil rights laws. All that these provisions would do is strengthen the Posse Comitatus Act and prevent the National Guard from being abused, misused, or dragged into partisan politics.