H. RES _____
SECTION 1.
RESOLVED, that Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, and Peter B. Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, are impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the Senate:
Article of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, and Peter B. Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against them for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article I: ABUSE OF POWER AND VIOLATIONS OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY, FEDERAL LAW, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
In their respective conduct of the offices of President of the United States and Secretary of Defense, Donald J. Trump and Peter B. Hegseth have committed high crimes and misdemeanors, in that:
Recent controversial actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have led to public protests around the country, including in and around the City of Los Angeles, California. These protests are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Violations of law in this context have been objectively small in scale and fully within the capabilities of State and local law enforcement to handle. These State and local authorities, who have primary responsibility for maintaining law and order and exercising the police power under the Constitution of the United States, have not requested any federal or military assistance.
On the evening of June 7, 2025, Donald J. Trump issued a memorandum entitled “Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions (the “Trump Memo”). The Trump Memo does not identify any particular incident, nor identify any State or other specific geographic region by name, but refers to “[n]umerous incidents of violence and disorder” that “have recently occurred and threaten to continue in response” to ICE enforcement of federal immigration laws and to threats to the security of federal immigration detention facilities and other federal property. The memo also states that “[t]o the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
The Trump Memo states: “In light of these incidents and credible threats of continued violence, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard under 10 U.S.C. 12406 to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.”
The Trump Memo further directs the Secretary of Defense “to coordinate with the Governors of the States and the National Guard Bureau in identifying and ordering into Federalservice the appropriate members and units of the National Guard under this authority.” The Trump Memo specifies that the members and units called into federal services “shall be at least 2,000 National Guard personnel and the duration of duty shall be for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.” Finally, the Trump Memo authorizes personnel to “perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary to ensure the protection and safety of Federal personnel and property.”
Later in the evening of June 7, Secretary Hegseth sent a memorandum (the “DOD Order”) to the Adjutant General of California, who leads the California National Guard but also holds a federal commission as a reserve of the United States Army, as is the norm for State officers in command of their respective National Guard forces. Secretary Hegseth attached the Trump Memo to this order and called into federal service 2,000 members of the California National Guard for a period of 60 days.
The Adjutant General of California subsequently shared these DOD Orders with the office of the Governor of California. However, at no time did the Governor or his office provide consent to the mobilization or issue orders through the Governor mobilizing the Guard members. The Governor was not even provided with any official notice from the President or the Department of Defense.
Shortly thereafter, the Adjutant General of California relinquished command of the California National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to General Gregory M. Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). Since that time, all orders issued to this unit have come from USNORTHCOM.
On June 8, the Governor of California sent a letter to Secretary Hegseth objecting to the federalization and deployment of California National Guard troops to Los Angeles and requesting that DOD rescind its order. The letter also reiterated the Governor’s previous public statements that local law enforcement is more than capable of responding to the recent protests in Los Angeles and had taken robust action to protect federal facilities and maintain order.
On June 9, 2025, Secretary Hegseth issued a second memorandum ordering the federalization of 2,000 additional California National Guard members. Once again, this order was not issued through the Governor and did not provide any opportunity for the Governor to review or consent.
Subsequent to these federalizations, it has been reported that California National Guard members have been ordered to locations in and around the City of Los Angeles where they have not been provided with sufficient food, water, fuel, equipment or lodging.
This federal commandeering has denied the State of California a substantial portion of its National Guard at a time when its members may be needed at any moment to respond to genuine emergencies, including wildfires such as those which recently produced severe damage and numerous deaths in the Los Angeles area, or large earthquakes to which the State is prone.
This is the first time since 1965—when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators, under a different legal authority—that a president has activated a State’s National Guard without a request from the State’s Governor, an extraordinary power carefully limited by both the Constitution and federal statutes.
The provision of law cited by the Trump Memo, 10 U.S.C. § 12406, has only been invoked once before, under radically different circumstances, when President Richard M. Nixon ordered Guard forces to carry out mail delivery during a strike by postal workers.
10 U.S.C. § 12406 limits this presidential authority to cases of “invasion,” “rebellion,” or when “the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.” Furthermore, 10 U.S.C. § 12406 requires that “orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States.”
The requirements of 10 U.S.C. § 12406 have not been met on any reasonable interpretation of the plain text of the law and the facts on the ground in and around the City of Los Angeles, nor have the orders purportedly based on this provision been issued through the Governor of California as the law requires. The National Guard federalization ordered on this purported basis is therefore manifestly unlawful and ultra vires.
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States provides in relevant parts: “The Congress shall have Power [. . .] To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions” and “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” and “To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces.”
These powers are granted to Congress, not the President, and may be exercised only as Congress has prescribed by law. For all other purposes, command of the militia (now including the National Guard) of the several States is vested in the States according to their respective laws and constitutions, as secured by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution and codified in numerous provisions of federal law.
In addition to the unlawful commandeering of the California National Guard, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have ordered the activation of units of the Marine Corps for the purported purpose of law enforcement activities in and around the City of Los Angeles.
18 U.S.C. § 1385, commonly known as the Posse Comitatus Act, provides in full: “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, or the Space Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
Among the grievances against King George III in the Declaration of Independence is the following charge: “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.” The same can now be said of Donald J. Trump and Peter B. Hegseth.
In all of this, Donald J. Trump and Peter B. Hegseth have willfully and egregiously violated federal laws and the Constitution. They have thereby betrayed their respective trusts as President of the United States and Secretary of Defense, abused the power of their offices, violated the sovereignty of the States and the system of constitutional federalism, sought to provoke and escalate civil disorder, and imperiled the most fundamental principles of civil-military relations in the United States.
Wherefore, Donald J. Trump and Peter B. Hegseth have committed the high crimes and misdemeanors of Abuse of Power and Violations of State Sovereignty, Federal Law, and the Constitution of the United States, and warrant impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.
