Members of President Trump’s Cabinet will be involved in the establishment of a “central command center” to coordinate the national response to the riots that have precipitated out of the protests over the death of George Floyd last week.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Monday that Attorney General William Barr and Defense Secretary Mark Esper will be involved in strategizing deployment of “federal assets” to help law enforcement but did not elaborate on the exact details of the deployments.
“There will be additional federal assets deployed across the nation. There will be a central command center in conjunction with the state and local governments that will include Gen. Milley, Secretary Esper, and A.G. Barr, but I won’t go any further in announcing what actions,” McEnany said.
After Trump told governors in a call Monday that Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would be “in charge” of the response campaign, McEnany confirmed his leading role.
She later added that Milley has been advocating for an adjustment in strategy to ensure that cities are “dominated” by the National Guard and law enforcement.
“There are several studies that when there’s an overwhelming National Guard presence, it actually deescalates the situation and causes less civil unrest, so Gen. Milley has really been on point in talking about the National Guard, the effectiveness, and ensuring that they are utilized to great effect across the country,” McEnany said.
Protests took a violent turn in the last few days, with cities across the country experiencing looting, assaults, and destruction of businesses.
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was fired and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he held his knee to Floyd’s neck as Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe.” Floyd was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Three other officers were also on the scene when Floyd died. They have been fired from the department but have not been charged.
