In a controversial move announced Monday, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi to explore how military and national security resources could be used to support domestic law enforcement efforts.
The executive order, titled “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Civilians,” outlines several sweeping initiatives. Among them is the creation of a legal defense framework for law enforcement officers, as well as new federal measures targeting state and local officials who, according to the order, “willfully and unlawfully direct the obstruction of criminal law.” This includes actions such as restricting officers from performing their duties or enforcing certain laws.
Trump’s order also mandates that Hegseth and Bondi determine how military and national security “assets, training, non-lethal capabilities, and personnel” could be most effectively leveraged to prevent crime within the United States.
Section 4 of the order specifically calls on the Attorney General and Secretary of Defense—alongside the Secretary of Homeland Security and other federal agencies—to, within 90 days, increase the provision of excess military and national security equipment and resources to assist local and state law enforcement. The directive seeks to expand the military’s role in policing functions domestically, a topic long fraught with constitutional and civil liberty concerns.
The executive order was signed during a public event attended by sheriffs and law enforcement officials from across the country, signaling Trump’s ongoing alignment with law enforcement communities as he continues shaping his agenda.
Critics have raised alarms over the implications of military involvement in civilian policing, warning it could erode the long-standing separation between military and domestic law enforcement enshrined in the Posse Comitatus Act.
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