This is Brian Lair's Daily Politics podcast from WNYC Studios.

It's Wednesday, August 27th.

I'm Bridget Bergen from the WNYC and Gothamist Newsroom sitting in for Brian today.

President Trump has directed the National

Guard to take on a new role in American cities. In Washington, more than 2,000 Guard members

are already patrolling, and now the Pentagon has authorized them to carry weapons on those

patrols. The President's order also called for a rabid response force, hundreds of

troops who could be sent anywhere in the country within an hour. And he's said out loud that Chicago

may be next and maybe New York. So I think Chicago will be our next and then we'll help with New York.

So how unusual is this?

What does the law allow a president to do when governors and mayors say no?

And what does it mean for the line between civilian policing and the military when troops are

posted at subway stations and on city streets?

Dan Lamoth, U.S. military and Pentagon reporter at the Washington Post,

is on this story, and he joins us now. Dan, welcome to WNYC. Sure, thank you. Dan, let's start with

what's new here. What exactly does this order change about the National Guard's mission

inside the United States? Yeah, the short answer is the executive order that was issued this week.

It calls for the setting up of a unit that actually a couple different units,

one that could deploy on short order to various parts of the country,

if there's unrest, if there's a

riot, some sort of disturbance that in theory should outpace whatever the local authorities can do.

So that would be rare, I think would be the first answer. In addition to that, yes, we're watching what's playing out in Washington, D.C.

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