D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is making an effort to have National Guard troops from Utah expelled from a D.C. hotel. This prompted President Donald Trump and Utah Senator Mike Lee, pushed back.
But Twitter users have a hunch Bowser’s fight to remove National Guard troops falls under the Constitution’s Third Amendment.
Bowser issued a letter to Trump on Friday asking for the National Guard to be removed after a peaceful protest, where no arrests were made. She also ended the state of emergency in D.C. The full letter can be read here.
Trump responded and slammed Bowser’s request on Friday afternoon. “The incompetent Mayor of Washington, D.C., @MayorBowser, who’s [sic] budget is totally out of control and is constantly coming back to us for “handouts”, is now fighting with the National Guard, who saved her from great embarrassment…” he began on Twitter.
A second tweet followed. “…over the last number of nights. If she doesn’t treat these men and women well, then we’ll bring in a different group of men and women!”
Lee also claimed Bowser’s ask was inappropriate, and she responded. “Senator — until they are recalled home — which I have formally requested from the President, your troops are in DC hotels. However, DC residents cannot pay their hotel bills. The Army can clear that up with the hotel today, and we are willing to help.”
So what exactly does the Third Amendment say?
It reads:
This means it’s illegal for the government to insist members of the military are housed by civilians when it’s not a time of war. If a hotel qualifies under this amendment seems unclear, and is being heavily debated.
Some commenters are thrilled the amendment finally seems to have a place, while others don’t think there’s ground to dismiss military members from a hotel, which isn’t civilian housing. The concept quickly became a meme, and just another bullet point to add to the societal insanity that has flooded 2020.
Americans are split on if the National Guard is necessary. A loud debate shows some major support for Trump’s tactics, while others think the use of military force on peaceful Americans is unlawful.
Earlier in the week, Trump was slammed by former secretary of defense James Mattis for his use of military force during the protests, many of which were peaceful. Mattis, who has stayed silent on Trump’s administration since his 2018 resignation, made a challenging remark about the man’s leadership tactics.
“I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside,” he wrote in a statement, published by The Atlantic.
But others applaud Trump’s persistence. Senator Lindsey Graham backed Trump in a tweet. “I will do everything possible to push back against this outrage against the men and women of our National Guard,” he wrote. “They left their homes and businesses in Utah to protect homes and businesses in our nation’s Capital.”
