At a time of uncertainty for National Guard members throughout the country, Sen. Tammy Duckworth is traveling to Poland and Portugal to focus on partnership programs between the Illinois National Guard and both countries.
A vocal critic of President Trump's mobilization of the National Guard in Democratic cities, including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Memphis, Duckworth told the Chicago Sun-Times she'll be able to highlight what she believes Guard members "should be doing," instead of the immigration enforcement role President Donald Trump has envisioned for them.
"I am always proud of what the Illinois National Guard is doing. And the 200 who were activated were not activated in a way that our governor, or that we, agreed with. But they conducted themselves well, and I'm always going to support the Illinois Guard," Duckworth said. "And frankly, I think this is an opportunity to highlight what the Guard should be doing. They shouldn't be out terrorizing, being told that you're supposed to help ICE terrorize the citizens of Chicago. They should be doing what they have been doing for 35 years, which is strengthening the bond between the United States and our NATO allies."
The U.S. Supreme Court in December ruled against Trump and refused to lift a block on National Guard deployment within the state of Illinois, finding that Trump invoked a law that required him to first be unable to execute federal law with help from regular military forces.
And while Trump has for now dropped his push to deploy the National Guard in Chicago, Portland and Los Angeles, troops will be on the streets of Washington D.C. until the end of the year, the Associated Press reported. The nation's capital is a federal district, placing Guard activation under Trump's control.
Duckworth said she's believes last year's mobilizations may actually impact enrollment of new Guard members. And she has been adamant that Trump's intended use of the Guard is taking them away from their true purpose — to be utilized by states for domestic emergencies like natural disasters, civil unrest or pandemics.
"Frankly this is one of my biggest concerns. My number one concern is that this is unconstitutional, what Donald Trump was doing with the use of the National Guard. Number two, it puts the men and women of the military in jeopardy, legal jeopardy. It also pulls them away from the training that the need to be doing in order to be ready to go to combat when we ask them. And it's going to break the bond that the American people have with our nation's military and in particular, the bond and the trust that our citizens have with their National Guard....When we misuse that resource, we put ourselves in danger of estranging the people of Illinois from the members of the Illinois Guard."
Duckworth arrives in Poland on Tuesday and in Portugal on Thursday. In Poland, Duckworth will meet with Illinois National Guard Battalion leaders, as well as Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski and Polish Deputy Foreign Minsiter Robert Kupiecki. She'll also visit the Jasionka Base Center, a hub run by both Poland and NATO where U.S. security assistance to Ukraine flows through.
Duckworth said she'll be talking to officials about how to utilize Guard members for disaster responses in Portugal. She'll meet with members of Parliament and other defense officials.
Duckworth is traveling to Poland at a time when Poland's president, Karol Nawrocki, remains a vocal Trump ally, most recently telling BBC that Europe needed to do everything it could to support Trump in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Duckworth plans to meet with members of the Polish military and their defense ministry, as well as NATO members at a medical evacuation center and a distribution center.
"I think a lot of our world leaders, whether or not they're our allies, know that we have an egotistical, weak president who needs to have his ego stroked constantly. So you have Nobel Peace Prize winners who are offering to give him their Nobel prize. You have the head of FIFA creating some sort of weird a** fake Peace Prize in soccer," Duckworth said. "I certainly am not surprised that world leaders feel the need to serve Donald Trump's ego. But this for me, is just an indication of how easily manipulated they feel he is."
