Statement from Senator Mary L. Washington On President Trump's Threat to Deploy National Guard In Baltimore

Statement from Senator Mary L. Washington On President Trump’s

Threat to Deploy National Guard In Baltimore

August 13, 2025

BALTIMORE, Md. – Today, Senator Mary Washington issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s threat to deploy the National Guard in Baltimore and federalize local police departments:

After President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy the National Guard to cities nationwide – including Baltimore – and seize control of local police without state consent, I joined over 50 Maryland leaders in condemning this unlawful move. Yet the very next night, hundreds of Guard troops were sent to D.C., resulting in arrests and the removal of unhoused residents – a troubling preview of what could follow.

Here in Baltimore City and across Maryland, the law of our land is clear. The Maryland Declaration of Rights, Article 4, states that “the People of this State have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, as a free, sovereign and independent State.” That guarantee means that no president, under any pretext, may seize control of a local police force in Maryland. To do so would violate our rights, subvert our elected leadership, and defy the constitutional framework that places such authority firmly in the hands of our state’s Governor.

Federal law likewise protects us from such overreach. Under Section 12406(3) of the U.S. Code, the President may only federalize a state’s National Guard in narrowly defined and extraordinary circumstances,  and even then, any such order must come through the Governor.

The Maryland Constitution, Article II, Section 8 declares the Governor as the State’s Commander-in-Chief, empowered to “call out the militia to repel invasions, suppress insurrections, and enforce the execution of the laws.” The Maryland Code, Public Safety § 13-702(b) grants the Governor sole authority to order the militia, which includes the Maryland National Guard, into active state duty to respond to crises, enforce the laws, and carry out any state militia function.

Any federal action that bypasses the Governor not only supplants his lawful command over the Maryland National Guard but also breaks the chain of public safety authority established by Maryland voters. In Baltimore, that chain runs from the Governor to the Mayor and City Council – leaders chosen by Baltimoreans to oversee their police department. Overriding the Governor is not just a violation of law; it is an affront to the people of Baltimore, stripping them of the leaders they elected to protect and serve their community.

These protections are not symbolic; they exist to safeguard the rights of the people of Maryland and Baltimore that they have vested in their chosen leaders. To override them is to disregard the will of the voters, subvert the lawful chain of command, and erode the constitutional guardrails that keep federal power in check.

The hypocrisy of portraying Democratic-led cities as being overrun by crime while ignoring Republican-led cities with the nation’s highest murder rates – such as Memphis, St. Louis, and New Orleans – makes clear this is not about public safety. It is about consolidating power. This is an overt attempt to use military force to impose Trump’s authoritarian political ideology – one that undermines state sovereignty, usurps home rule, and casts aside the will of democratically elected governments. We stand united against this affront to our way of life and the dignity of the people.

Let us stand together in solidarity with state and local leaders across the country who are saying “NO” – in the streets, in the courts, and in the halls of government. We are truly all in this together, as Baltimoreans and as Marylanders. We will not allow Baltimore to be exploited as a pawn in the politics of fear and division.

Senator Mary L. Washington

Maryland State Senate, 43rd Legislative District