Gov. Hery McMaster leads a briefing at the South Carolina Emergency Operations Center in West Columbia on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, after the damage caused by Tropical Storm Helene. (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster authorized deploying 200 National Guard members from South Carolina to Washington to support the Trump administration’s policing of the nation’s capital.
They leave Monday.
According to McMaster’s office, his order Saturday was requested by the Pentagon.
The troops are activated under Title 32, or “federal-state status” authority, which means the federal government pays for their deployment but McMaster remains in control.
The governor said he will bring the troops back immediately if a hurricane or other natural disaster threatens the state.
“South Carolina is proud to stand with President Trump as he works to restore law and order to our nation’s capital and ensure safety for all who live, work, and visit there,” McMaster said in a statement.
The National Guard in South Carolina includes more than 9,300 Army National Guard and 1,300 Air National Guard members.
President Donald Trump asserted control of the Washington police force Aug. 11 and mobilized 800 National Guard troops after declaring a “crime emergency.”
It marked the first federal takeover since 1973, when the Home Rule Act allowed the city’s residents to elect their own mayor and city council. The law allows the president to take control when “special conditions of an emergency nature exist.” But it limits a takeover to 30 days, unless Congress passes a resolution extending the authority.
District officials sued Friday, arguing the Trump administration “far exceeded” its authority with an executive order making the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration the emergency police commissioner. In response, the Trump administration agreed to leave Washington’s police chief in charge of the city’s 3,400 officers.
But the lawsuit did not challenge Trump’s ability to deploy 800 National Guard members. Since the district is not a state, the president has sole authority over National Guard units in the capital city.
State Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain called it reckless for McMaster to send 200 troops to Washington in the middle of hurricane season.
“The gall of Henry to think so little of our friends, neighbors and loved ones as to send our heroes away during the very time they are most needed here at home is a disgusting act of betrayal,” she said in a statement Sunday.
“South Carolinians know all too well how devastating a storm can be,” she continued. “Instead of putting South Carolina first, Governor McMaster has chosen political loyalty to Donald Trump over the safety and security of the people he was elected to serve.”
State Rep. John King also questioned the deployment and its costs.
“We are told federal reimbursement will cover the expenses, but history has shown there are always hidden costs that fall back on taxpayers,” the Rock Hill Democrat wrote Sunday in a letter to McMaster also sent out in a news release.
He called the deployment “political theater.”
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