TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, alongside a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors, filed a brief on Saturday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The brief supports Illinois in opposition to President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard without approval from the state’s governor.
The coalition’s brief asserts that the President’s actions violate the law, undermine civilian control of the military, and threaten state sovereignty and principles of federalism. Recent orders from the Trump Administration have sent the National Guard to various localities, including California, Washington, D.C., Oregon, and Illinois.
“Judges across the country have made clear what is laid out in the Constitution – Trump’s domestic National Guard deployments are illegal,” Platkin stated. The brief argues that the President’s use of armed forces in these instances parallels actions commonly seen in authoritarian regimes.
On Friday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump Administration’s request for an immediate administrative stay, although it did allow for the federalization of the Guard during the stay request’s pendency. The court barred the deployment of any federalized National Guard in Illinois.
Platkin urged the court to reject a broad stay pending appeal that would facilitate the deployment of troops to Chicago. The brief asks the appellate court to uphold the lower court’s decision, which affirms the separation of powers between state and federal authorities.
The attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington joined Platkin in filing the brief. Governors from Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania also supported the effort.
As tensions rise over the deployment issue, the coalition stands firm in its stance against perceived encroachments on state authority.