Attorney General Pam Bondi declined on Tuesday to answer a question about whether she’s had any discussions with President Trump about the legal justification for deploying National Guard troops from California and Texas to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, despite the objections of Democratic governors.
“I am not going to discuss any internal conversations with the White House,” Bondi said when Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), in response to a question from the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
That prompted a surprised response from Durbin.
“What’s the secret? Why do you want to keep this secret to the American people [who] don’t know the rationale behind the deployment of National Guard troops in my state,” Durbin said.
Bondi responded hotly by pointing out that Durbin “voted to shut down the government.” She said that means federal law enforcement officers aren’t being paid while they’re working to protect Democratic lawmakers and Democratic cities, such as Chicago.
“I wish you love Chicago as much as you hate President Trump and currently the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will,” Bondi said, her voice rising.
A federal judge in a ruling late Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Oregon. And on Sunday, Illinois and Chicago sued to block Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to the city.
Trump on Monday floated using the Insurrection Act to bypass any legal hurdles and send troops to Portland.
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