Trump, the Insurrection Act, and the California National Guard: Democracy Under Threat

The Oath and The Office

Corey Brettschneider

Government, News, Politics

4.9 • 591 Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of The Oath and the Office, Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang unpack Donald Trump’s unprecedented move to take operational control of the California National Guard. Currently, the official mission is to protect federal buildings and personnel. But Trump has hinted that he may invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests. That raises serious constitutional red flags—especially as peaceful protesters remain protected under the First Amendment.

The episode distinguishes between martial law and the Insurrection Act, clarifying legal limits that Trump may attempt to ignore. Brettschneider also revisits his push for legislative reform of the Act during the Biden administration—a vital effort that failed to gain traction.

The conversation then turns to federalism: with states like California resisting Trump’s overreach, the battle over sanctuary cities and states' rights has become a defining front in the struggle to defend democracy.

Broadcasting from Finland, Brettschneider shares insights from recent meetings with government officials and academics. Despite ongoing threats from Russia, Finland remains a model of democratic resilience—something increasingly at risk in the U.S.

Finally, the episode covers the latest in the Abrego Garcia case: while charges have been filed and extradition enforced, the due process of law remains intact—underscoring what’s at stake in this moment of constitutional crisis.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to another edition of The Oath and the Office with Professor Corey Brechtner.
0:15.0	I'm John Fuglesang. It's so great to be with you. We have many thoughts. There's a lot to get through today. Let me begin by welcoming
0:22.6	the man himself. He is a constitutional law scholar, a political theorist, and the author of one of the most important books on presidential power in the modern era, The Oath in the Office.
0:32.6	And if you want to understand how democracy gets distorted by the same people who swear to
0:38.5	defend it, there is no better man to talk to. People of Earth joining us now from Finland, where
0:43.8	he's been meeting with members of parliament to teach them how to dance. Professor Corey Brechtnyder,
0:49.1	welcome back. Thanks so much, John. And, you know, I got this invitation to come to Helsinki and to talk to government officials and academics.
0:57.5	And there was an amazing event this morning where I gave a keynote address about threats to democracy at home in the United States and trying to figure out what the hell is going on there.
1:09.6	And to also outline hope and to talk about the threat to
1:13.8	democracy globally. But I wanted to tell our listeners that one sign that the podcast is
1:20.1	growing is I asked the organizers, well, how did you hear about me? And one of the people
1:26.0	involved in this conference evidently is a huge fan of the podcast. So I'm in Hels And one of the people involved in this conference, evidently, is a huge fan of the
1:28.9	podcast. So I'm in Helsinki because of the oath in the office podcast. And what a pleasure that was
1:35.3	to hear. And the people in Finland, as we'll talk about towards the end of the episode when we
1:40.5	come back to that, are so interested and concerned about what's happening in America,
1:45.7	which has, of course, so long presented itself as a beacon of democracy.
1:49.8	And yet as we face a threat to democracy, I think the Finnish people have solidarity with us,
1:54.6	with the citizens who are so concerned to protect it.
1:57.9	And, of course, it will impact the world if our democracy falls. And so they are
2:02.0	rooting for us. And part of the hope and energy that I have at the moment comes from seeing the
2:07.1	solidarity of the Finnish people who, of course, face their own threat to democracy at the
2:12.1	border from Russia and from a dictator that would destroy democracy globally. So thank you to the Finnish people.
	...

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