https://crsreports.congress.gov
February 23, 2021
National Guard Civil Support in the District of Columbia
The use of the National Guard in various contexts within
the District of Columbia (DC) has raised congressional
questions regarding the authorities and mechanisms for
requesting, activating, and using the National Guard to
support civil authorities. This In Focus describes the
National Guard, relevant mechanisms for its activation,
certain legal considerations, and aspects of its use to
provide law enforcement support in Washington, DC.
The National Guard
The National Guard is descended from colonial-era militias
that existed prior to the adoption of the Constitution. The
Constitution recognizes the existence of, and gives the
federal government limited authority over, the militia
(Article I, §8, cls. 15, 16; Article 2, §2). The U.S. Code
defines the militia as “all able-bodied males at least 17
years of age and ... under 45 years of age who are, or who
have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of
the United States and of female citizens of the United States
who are members of the National Guard” (10 U.S.C. §246).
This definition also establishes two subcategories: the
unorganized militia and the organized militia. The
organized militia is subdivided into the National Guard and
the Naval Militia. The National Guard consists of the Army
National Guard (ARNG) and the Air National Guard
(ANG). The ARNG and ANG are also reserve components
of the armed forces – under the designations Army National
Guard of the United States and Air National Guard of the
United States – along with the Army Reserve, Navy
Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and
Coast Guard Reserve (10 U.S.C. §10101).
There are 54 National Guard organizations: one in every
state, plus Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and
the District of Columbia. State and territorial governors
each serve as commander in chief of their entity’s National
Guard. The President of the United States is the commander
in chief of the DC National Guard (DCNG).
Federal Activation
A federal activation occurs when a reserve component unit
or an individual is ordered to active duty for a federal
mission, other than training, pursuant to Title 10 of the U.S.
Code. Federal activation of the National Guard can include
either mobilization as a reserve component of the Army or
Air Force or federalization of the organized militia. Upon
activation, military authority over mobilized or federalized
units and personnel passes from the state or territorial
governor to the President.
Mobilization
The President can mobilize the National Guard as a reserve
component of the armed forces for active duty in response
to war or national security crises, conflicts, and
emergencies under the following authorities:
Full Mobilization (10 U.S.C. §12301(a))
Partial Mobilization (10 U.S.C §12302(a))
Presidential Reserve Call-up (10 U.S.C. §12304)
Pre-planned Missions (10 U.S.C. §12304b)
Federalization
The President can federalize the National Guard as the
organized militia to become a component of the armed
forces in response to insurrection, invasion, rebellion, or to
enforce the law during such events.
Insurrection. If there is an insurrection in a state against its
government, at the request of that state’s legislature, or
governor if the legislature cannot be convened, the
President may call the militia of another state into federal
service to suppress the insurrection (10 U.S.C. §251).
Whenever the President determines that rebellion or certain
unlawful actions against federal authority make it
impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in
any state by judicial proceedings, the President may call the
militia of any state into federal service to enforce those laws
or suppress those actions (10 U.S.C. §252). If rebellion or
certain unlawful actions in a state impede the course of
justice, prevent the execution of law, or deprive citizens of
constitutional rights, the President may call the militia of
any state into federal service to suppress insurrection (10
U.S.C. §253). Under any of the preceding authorities, the
President may also use the other components of the armed
forces to suppress insurrection.
Invasion, Rebellion, Executing Federal Law. The President
may call members and units of the National Guard of any
state into federal service to repel invasion by a foreign
nation, suppress rebellion, or execute federal laws. Orders
for such service are to be issued through an affected state’s
governor or in the case of the DCNG, through its
commanding general (10 U.S.C. §12406).
State Activation
A governor can activate members of the National Guard
under state law to perform state active duty (SAD). The
President may also request that a governor activate
members of the National Guard under Title 32 of the U.S.
Code to perform full time National Guard duty (FTNGD)
and conduct a federal mission (32 U.S.C. §502(f)).
Command authority over units and personnel that conduct
such missions under Title 32 remains with the governor.
When performing SAD, members of the National Guard are
under the control of their governor and receive pay and
benefits in accordance with state law. When performing
FTNGD, they remain under their respective governor’s
