The Trump administration is planning to create a new reaction force that would have hundreds of National Guard troops ready to rapidly deploy to American cities across the country to shut down protests or other forms of unrest, new Pentagon documents show.
The story was initially reported by The Washington Post, whose journalists reviewed internal Pentagon documents.
According to the outlet, the group would be called "Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force," and it would call for 600 troops to be on standby at all times so they can be deployed in as little as an hour. They would be split into two groups of 300 and stationed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona, with purviews of regions east and west of the Mississippi River, respectively.
The documents were compiled by National Guard officials as recently as late July and early August, according to the Post. However, the earliest the proposals could be created and funded is the fiscal year 2027 through the Pentagon's traditional budgetary process, the documents reportedly said.
Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the plans could come into effect sooner through alternative funding.
"The Department of Defense is a planning organization and routinely reviews how the department would respond to a variety of contingencies across the globe," a Defense official told The Independent but refused to comment further on the details.
"We will not discuss these plans through leaked documents, pre-decisional or otherwise," the official added.
Cost projections outlined in the documents indicate that such a mission, if the proposal is adopted, could stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars should military aircraft and aircrews also be required to be ready around-the-clock.
It remains unclear whether the proposal has been shared yet with the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Possible "negative repercussions" of the program were reportedly discussed in the documents, which included the "potential political sensitivities."
"National Guard support for [Department of Homeland Security] raises potential political sensitivities, questions regarding the appropriate civil-military balance and legal considerations related to their role as a nonpartisan force," the documents reportedly stated.
Other concerns addressed a "strain on personnel and equipment," and reducing the availability in states for other missions.
The proposed plans come as President Trump dispatched the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C. in a bid to crack down on what he says is "out of control" violent crime. Trump also deployed the National Guard back in June to Los Angeles after protests flared up against the administration's anti-immigration agenda.
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