Montana’s top elected leaders say they support President Donald Trump’s recent deployment of the National Guard. Troops are acting as law enforcement in Washington D.C.
Gov. Greg Gianforte says even though the state’s troops haven’t been called to D.C., they may help U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Montana.
“There’s been no request for National Guard outside the borders of Montana,” Gianforte says.
He wouldn’t say whether he’d answer a request for troops to aid municipal law enforcement, calling it a hypothetical question.
Six GOP governors sent their state National Guard troops to D.C. at Trump’s behest. Gianforte has previously sent National Guard troops to the southern border.
All four of Montana’s congressional delegates say Trump was right to deploy troops to the nation’s capital, citing violent crime rates.
NPR reports that crime rates in D.C. are similar or lower to comparable cities around the country. Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says the troops have reduced crime, especially carjackings. But she says they’ve eroded trust between law enforcement and the community.
U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, and Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing agree that tapping the National Guard was warranted. Downing told Fox News it couldn’t come soon enough.
“We all want laws to be enforced," he said. "We want safe streets. And especially in our nation’s capital.”
Trump says he’s considering sending troops to other left-leaning cities, like Chicago and Baltimore.
