The provision, offered by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), head of the House Intelligence Committee, and approved by the Democrat majority, effectively removes all congressional oversight of many U.S. military operations on American soil.
According to USSA News, the amendment was first offered in 2020 after then-President Donald Trump threatened to deploy active-duty U.S. troops throughout the country to quell Black Lives Matter violence and rioting. While the House passed the amendment, it was eliminated during House-Senate reconciliation negotiations regarding the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Schiff’s amendment also gained support from the Brennan Center for Justice, which said it would “establish clear consequences to deter the government” from unlawfully deploying the U.S. military during certain domestic situations while also preventing the suppression of evidence during such incidents, USSA News noted further.
The outlet adds an assessment of its own regarding the amendment.
“This is an irrational development. Congressional oversight is an integral part of the checks and balances system that keeps a government balanced. Reducing oversight means that presidential power could go unchecked,” the site’s analysis said. “And while we certainly do not want to encourage military deployment during law enforcement situations, removing oversight is just plain stupid.”
In reality, deploying the military domestically is only constitutional under very limited circumstances. The president is the commander-in-chief and has the authority to order such deployments — again, under very limited circumstances including instances of invasion and rebellion — and would still retain control over those forces. But congressional oversight is also key to ensuring that presidents do not engage in Executive Branch overreach, and frankly, with Barack Obama essentially running the Biden regime in a third term, the last thing any American should want is a far-left potential dictator with unfettered power to go after political opponents using the full force of the U.S. military.
Schiff can’t be trusted. Republicans are exactly right to be wary.