Civilian Control of the U.S. Military: Still a Good Idea?
Tom Timberman • June 7, 2020
America’s Founding Fathers were suspicious of a standing military. In 1768, Samuel Adams wrote, “Even where there is a necessity of the military power, within a land, a wise and prudent people will always have a watchful and a jealous eye over it.” Speaking at the Constitutional Convention, James Madison said, “The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.”
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution reads: “The President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United Sates and of the Militia of the several States when called into the actual Service of the United States.” Again James Madison: “A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive, will not long be safe companions to liberty”.
The underlying constitutional assumption is that the president and other civilian officials will be reluctant to use the U.S. military to force citizen compliance with the will of the federal government or to enter states without their governor’s or legislature’s request. And in practice, that has largely been the case. Governors have similar authority over their national guards.
Maryland’s Eastern Shore is no stranger to military occupation. In 1962, demands by African Americans to desegregate businesses in Cambridge were unsuccessful, despite Gov. Millard Tawes’s urgent request to the legislature for laws ending discrimination across the state. In 1963, a Cambridge movie theater owner substantially reduced the seating available to blacks. The ensuing boycotts, demonstrations, and arson turned into armed violence and deaths. Martial law was declared and the Maryland National Guard occupied Cambridge for over a year.
Since last January, Americans have faced a perfect storm of catastrophes. The covid-19 pandemic to date has killed 110,000. Then there have been the negative effects of state and local governments’ lockdown orders to contain the virus. With tens of millions of Americans out of work, the national economy has been devastated.
Fear, anxiety, desperation, and depression are tinder waiting for a flame. And that flame arrived in Minneapolis two weeks ago when a white policeman killed an unarmed, handcuffed African American man by suffocation. A video of the event went viral and ignited outrage in black and white communities nation-wide. This outrage quickly translated into massive demonstrations across the country, including in Washington, D.C. where crowds gathered peacefully in Lafayette Square, adjacent to the White House.
The president exhibited no understanding of the dynamics of the moment (the long history of white cops attacking black citizens) and blamed incidental violence on terrorists (the demonstrators). He further exacerbated the situation by claiming left-wing groups and the Black Lives Matter organization were using social media to incite violence. He threatened to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act and deploy federal forces to states, whether they were requested or not. To date, 22 states and the District of Columbia have called up their national guards, and no state has requested federal military support.
Then last week, the president, abetted by his attorney general, went on the offensive. After remarks in the Rose Garden filled with threats of force and the need to dominate and subdue the violence, he walked through the White House gates and strode across Lafayette Square to St. John's Church, site of his photo op. The demonstrators there had been tear gassed, attacked with flash-bang grenades, and forced back to allow the president to use the church and his daughter’s Bible as props.
Civilian control of the U.S. military continues to be a sensible principle. However, we’re now learning that we may need additional guardrails and congressional oversight to prevent misuse of the military by presidents and cabinet members.
Prominent Americans have sharply criticized the president’s readiness to use force against Americans in the past few days. What do they have to say?
Adm. Mike Mullen (Ret.), former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
“Trump laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.”
William Perry, former secretary of defense:
“I am outraged at the deplorable behavior of our president and Defense Secretary Esper, threatening to use American military forces to suppress peaceful demonstrators exercising their constitutional rights. This is a deeply shameful moment for our nation."
Gen. Michael Hayden (Ret.), former director of the CIA and NSA, on Mark Milley (present chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff) joining Trump for his walk in front of the White House after protesters were cleared:
"I was appalled to see him in his battle dress. Milley (he's a general?!?) should not have walked over to the church with Trump."
Ashton Carter, former secretary of defense:
"The Department of Defense exists to safeguard our citizens, not dominate them…. There is no need, no warrant, and no excuse to bring active-duty military force into the restoration of order.”
Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.), former secretary of state, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
“The country is at a turning point. Trump is the first president in my lifetime who is not trying to unite the country. And even more troubling, the Congress just sits there and in no way resists what the president is doing. The one word I would never use with any other president is he lies.”
Tom Timberman is a lawyer, and former Foreign Service officer and economic development team leader/government adviser in war zones. He and his wife have lived in Kent County for 24 years.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
