Congressman Sam Liccardo Introduces Bill to Shed Light on Unlawful National Guard Deployments

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of recent deployments of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., Congressman Sam Liccardo (CA-16) introduced the Safeguarding the Use of the National Guard (SUN) Act. 

“Americans remain in the dark about the many ways in which we pay a price for this unprecedented deployment of our military for urban policing, and about this Administration's intentions.  As Justice Brandeis wrote, ‘sunlight is the best disinfectant,’” said Liccardo, a former Mayor and criminal prosecutor. 

Liccardo continued, “When I left office as Mayor of San Jose’s one million residents in 2022, our city had the lowest homicide rate of any major US city. We never called in the National Guard to do it.  Rather, we relied on our experts: our police. We added 200 police officers, supported their collaboration with the community, and invested in evidence-based programs, such as gang prevention.”

“If Donald Trump wants to spend billions in federal dollars to override the judgment of police and 'Bigfoot’ the work of local communities, then the American people should know more about the impact, cost, and rationale of those decisions,” said Liccardo.

The SUN Act will require the Administration to be accountable to American taxpayers for National Guard deployments outside natural disasters. The president will submit a mandated report outlining the deployment's legal basis, aim, and cost to taxpayers. The report will also describe the extent of interactions between civilians and the National Guard, reports from local and state law enforcement detailing such events, and certification that the deployment did not interfere with the National Guard’s ability to assist with natural disaster response. The bill also mandates a post-deployment briefing to Congress by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to confirm whether it met the President's stated goals.

“When violent insurrectionists desecrated the Capitol and threatened to hang Vice President Pence, he did nothing. Yet with crime at a 30-year low, he launches a full-blown occupation,” continued Liccardo. “With the SUN Act, Trump—and future presidents—will be required to explain why such unprecedented, nonsensical reasons for deployment were worth the cost. If there’s nothing to hide, then let the light in.”

Cosponsors include: Del. Holmes Norton and Reps. Swalwell, Doggett, Thanedar, Carter, Pettersen, Dean, Min, Lofgren, Stanton, Schneider, Tran, Panetta, Velazquez, Jackson, Ansari, Kamlager-Dove, Morrison, Fields, Whitesides, Barragan, Levin, Jacobs, Jayapal, Hoyle, Ivey, Veasey, Williams, Trahan, Bynum, Scanlon, Crockett, Tokuda, Garcia, McBride, Horsford, Gottheimer, Kevin Mullin, LaMonica McIver, Rivas, Stansbury, Dexter, Garcia (TX), and Escobar.

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