The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said that his committee would hold hearings on Trump’s deployment of US troops to the southern border.
Transcript via ABC’s This Week:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s talk about the broader agenda. You said you want to hold hearings in the Armed Services Committee on the President Trump’s politicization of the military. What does that mean exactly and who will you call?
SMITH: Well, what we’ve seen is when the president talks — I mean he has campaign rallies when he — when he’s talking to troops. I don’t think you should use the military to advance your agenda. Every other president before this when they’ve worked with the military, when they’re talked to the troops, it’s been about national security, it’s been about their services — their service. Sorry. But when President Trump talks, it’s about his campaign, about how bad the Democrats are.
You know, we need civilian control of the military and we need to separate those things. But the main thing that I want to focus on in the hearings that we have coming up once we get our committee set is transparency and oversight. You know, why did the president send 5,600 troops — active duty troops to the border? What was the purpose of it? What is his policy in Syria and Afghanistan as he’s now talking about pulling out? There’s been a lack of transparency and an explanation for what his national security strategy is.
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We want to make sure that the officials at the Pentagon and the White House let Congress know and that we work together to develop a coherent national security strategy.
Video:
Armed Services Committee Chair Rep. Adam Smith says he wants to hold hearings about President Trump's politicization of the military: "He has campaign rallies when he's talking to troops. I don't think you should use the military to advance your agenda" https://t.co/P6iz1j1VA4 pic.twitter.com/xAbdDHo9d3
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 6, 2019
Trump is not going to be able to abuse his presidential powers to create a fake crisis to suit his political agenda. Trump put the troops on the border to scare people into supporting his wall. The administration has done everything imaginable to try to inflame tensions along the southern border, but none of this is going to fly any longer.
Everything that Trump does will be subjected to House oversight.
As Rep. Smith said, members of Congress want to know why Trump sent the troops there, and what the policy and strategy are.
The game has changed, and Donald Trump’s days of running wild in Washington are long gone.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
