Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said President Trump’s decision to deploy 2,000 National Guardsmen to the Los Angeles area without a governor’s signoff is an effort to “de-escalate” the situation.
“I think what President Trump’s trying to do is pretty clear. He’s trying to de-escalate all the tensions that are there,” he said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
He compared the situation to the 2020 protests in Portland, Ore., when monthlong demonstrations erupted after the killings of Black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“What President Trump is trying to do is say, ‘This is not going to take weeks this time. We’re not going to allow this to be able to spiral out of control,’” Lankford said.
“If someone violates the law, no matter what state that they’re in, they’re in violation of a federal law, they should face consequences for that,” he continued.
When host Kristen Welker noted that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said there was no unmet need for law enforcement, the LAPD stated that the protests were peaceful, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that active-duty Marines could be mobilized, Lankford brushed it off.
“Active-duty Marines are not going to be put into local law enforcement,” he said. “They would be in support roles on it, as we have at the border. We have active-duty military at the border, but they’re not doing law enforcement tasks. They’re doing logistical tasks behind the scenes.”
Lankford praised the LAPD for their work, but said, “it’s clear that they’re being overwhelmed.”
Lankford’s statement comes amid protests in Los Angeles, expressing outrage over raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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