Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she would be talking to California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday about President Trump’s push to use National Guard troops to protect the border, but declined to speculate on what might happen if Brown refuses to use his Guard troops for that purpose.
“We’ll be speaking with the governor again today,” Nielsen told Fox News. “[Brown] has supported … use in support of the border in the past. I’d like to have further conversations with him before I jump ahead of him in how he would like to secure his border.”
Trump has asked governors from California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to use their Guard troops to support border operations, but Brown, the only Democratic governor in those four states, could prove to be a kink in that plan.
National Guard troops are under the control of the states, and Brown is already under pressure from Democrats in his state to ignore Trump’s push. State Sen. Kevin de Leon said to ignore the federal request, and Brown pushed the question to the California National Guard, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Nielsen said so far, DHS has sent out initial proposals to Brown and the other governors about how the Guard might be used, but said more conversations are needed.
“We send him some information with respect to our best advice as to how we could use the Guard to support our mission,” she said. “That’s the beginning of a conversation.”
She said she spoke to Brown on Wednesday, and will talk with him again Thursday. The Chronicle said that when asked what Brown might do, Brown’s office forwarded all questions to the California National Guard, which said it was still in talks with DHS.
