[Political Junkie Too]

I thought the problem is when the Fed gov comes to try to remove it

Who are they going to get to do it? The FBI? The Army Corp of Engineers?

If people follow the Constitution, the Biden administration cannot nationalize the Texas Guard. Only Congress can call up the state militias.

Article I Section 8 Clause 15:

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

Even then, the President might command the militia, but its officers still belong to the state.

Article I Section 8 Clause 16:

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

I'd love to see Biden try to take over the Texas National Guard and Abbott refuse citing that only Congress can call up the Texas National Guard. Then, I'd like to see Abbott appoint the officers who refuse the comply with Biden's orders.

If Biden goes the Army route, then who's a dictator?

If he tries the FBI, then we will have a stand-off: what authority does the FBI have in Texas? Will military officers stand down to FBI agents?

-PJ

[MachIV]

I figure Biden will play this out like he is JFK and Abbott is George Wallace 1963. In otherwords they’ll play tye race card again.

[SauronOfMordor]

Except that the National Guard are not really a state militia as the Constitution envisioned. They are a reserve component of the US Army, under the Militia Act of 1903

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25119439?seq=1

Although Texas DOES maintain a true state militia independent of the National Guard

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Guard

[Reily]

I think the National Guard Act of 1905 (something like that! I think there were 3 federal acts in the preWWI time period!) that effectively did away with state militia system. Split them into the National Guard which is quasi-federal & state guards (Which most states didn’t bother to set up!) I believe the NG can “federalized” by the stroke of the president’s pen. (The state does pay salaries of senior NG officers and NCOs.) State guards were left to the states. The trade-off was the NGs got federal paid for training & equipment. Also as we’ve seen recently the NGs got to participate in the “World” (I know WV NG’ers who got deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Baltic, etc) all paid for by FedGov. They got good experience and training from this but this certainly has loosened the idea they are the states forces. All this relieves the state having to a any real defense bills except for a few senior NG salaries. I never understood how any of this was Constitutional. I guess it took a more creative reading of the Constitution then I was capable doing. Must be that law school training! I remember this being Constitutionally challenged in the 1980s when Bush I deployed a Mass NG unit to central America. I am pretty sure the governor lost the case. Another reason it was done was when it was decided that NG units were to be integrated into regular Army units should the balloon go up in Europe. This allowed savings in regular Army costs even though it seemed to be wishful thinking to me. Anyway the balloon didn’t go up! Now what about the remaining state guard units. They’re basically a shadow of a shadow of the old state militia system. Only to be called up in the state if the NG is already called up and gone. The only one I have any knowledge of is the Virginia State Guard. When I lived in NoVa I’d see them recruiting at gun shows. I chatted with the recruiters. If I remember this right they are completely unarmed and they have “training” meetings. Since I don’t remember the details I doubt it amounted to much. I don’t know about the other states that have state guards. Some states with coast lines have a state naval guard.

IMO the actual bottom line is as I see it is: The states don’t want to have a real defense budget - a militia system eventhough its Constitutionally mandated. They’re just as happy letting the federal government pay those bills and pretend to be doing their Constitutional duty. Most don’t even bother to do that!

Note this is all from memory and some of the details might be misremembered.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Mr. GG2 said he heard today Louisiana was sending their guard to Texas to help. I cannot confirm.

[Sequoyah101]

As I understand it all it would take to shove the fbi’s faces in the dirt and send them packing is for the county sheriff to say NO!