Andrew Clyde: “I thank my colleague from Wisconsin for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong opposition to amendment No. 25…”

“I thank my colleague from Wisconsin for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong opposition to amendment No. 25 which would place the mayor of the District of Columbia in charge of the D.C. National Guard. I can't believe this even has to be said, but the D.C. mayor is not the Governor of a State, and the District of Columbia, which houses our Federal Government, is not and should never become a State. Under current law, the President of the United States, our Nation's commander in chief, is the authority over the D.C. National Guard and also appoints its commissioned officers. The President has held that authority for more than two centuries since the inception of the D.C. National Guard under President Thomas Jefferson in 1802. The President has delegated the authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard to the Secretary of Defense, who has further delegated that authority to the Secretary of the Army. These are Federal officials accountable to the President of the United States. Under this amendment, the D.C. mayor, not the President, would be in charge of the D.C. National Guard, including deployments and appointing its commissioned officers, so the President would be stripped of his role entirely. Think about it. Taking the authority from the President and giving it to a mayor. Never. That is completely unacceptable. The D.C. mayor must not have equal authorities as Governors of States and territories have over their National Guards because the D.C.…”