# What happens if a state National Guard refuses to be federalized? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** factual\ **Created:** [September 16, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075 "2025-09-16T01:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/1 "2025-09-16T01:31:36Z")
How exactly does the President activate National Guard units? Does the order go from POTUS to the Secretary of Defense to the state Governor to the state Adjutant-General and so on down the line? At what point can an official or officer be bypassed? At what level do courts-martial begin? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/2 "2025-09-16T04:08:01Z")
From an earlier thread: > [@Trump now wants to use military force to take California](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-now-wants-to-use-military-force-to-take-california/1019341/3): > > The President does, in fact, have the authority to call up the National Guard and other state militia per [10 U.S. Code § 252 - Use of militia and armed forces to enforce Federal authority](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/252) and [10 U.S. Code § 253 - Interference with State and Federal law](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/253). The governor of the pertinent state ostensibly still has control over these forces; however per [10 U.S. Code § 254 - Proclamation to disperse](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/254): > > > _Whenever the President considers it necessary to use the militia or the armed forces under this chapter, he shall, by proclamation, immediately order the insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their abodes within a limited time._ Once federalized (“Title 10 duty”), a National Guard unit is effectively a part of the US Army (treated as a Active Duty unit in terms of pay and utility) and the home state governor has no say in deployment. The actually logistics of call up can be complicated: > **[Activating the National Guard and Reserves: Who Calls, Why, and What It Means](https://govfacts.org/federal/defense/a-citizens-guide-to-activating-the-national-guard-and-reserves-who-calls-why-and-what-it-means/)** > > America’s Weekend Warriors The United States military isn’t just the full-time soldiers you see on TV. A huge chunk of America’s defense comes from people who live double lives: teachers who turn into tank operators, engineers who become fighter... It should be noted that the Militia Act of 1903 is of questionable provenance under the view of Constitutional ‘originalism’, and the Founders never intended for the federal government to have a standing army of any kind (and a limited navy sufficient to patrol coastal waters). In fact, the government is really supposed to [dissolve and reconstitute the US Army every two years](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-8/clause-12/power-to-raise-and-support-an-army-overview) but has basically retained a standing army since the Mexican-American War (ending in 1848), and a sizable army for pacification or adventurism since the US Civil War. However, the US Supreme Court has regularly rendered judgements in favor of federalization, a permanent military establishment, and even the military draft and Selective Service registration in defiance of original intent and the 13th Amendment. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/3 "2025-09-16T18:19:41Z")
Could a governor (or legislature) disband their National Guard upon being federalized therefore not able to report? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/4 "2025-09-16T18:29:35Z")
No. While the states partially fund the National Guard units assigned to their state, they are administratively controlled by the the [National Guard Bureau](https://www.nationalguard.mil/), and most of the funding and virtually all of the equipment and weapons are supplied by the US Department of Defense. This is what permitted the Trump regime to activate California National Guard units and send them to downtown Los Angeles even though they were not technically federalized. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/5 "2025-09-16T18:32:01Z")
Is there a chart showing the political make-up of each state’s National Guard? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/6 "2025-09-16T20:05:08Z")
What do you mean by “political make-up”? [Here is an example of the force structure of the Colorado Army and Air National Guard.](https://co.ng.mil/About/Force-Structure/). The top level of most states will be similar down to the Adjutant General; the joint staff and specific components will depend on the specific composition of the National Guard of particular states. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/7 "2025-09-16T20:52:26Z")
I guess the easiest would be declared Republican, declared Democrat and declared Nunyo. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/8 "2025-09-16T20:59:26Z")
I don’t understand what that means. National Guard staff are not elected leaders and in general staff-level officers tend to avoid declaring political alignments or party affiliations. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/9 "2025-09-16T21:04:46Z")
Have members of the different state’s National Guards ever been polled as to their political affiliations? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-state-national-guard-refuses-to-be-federalized/1023075/10 "2025-09-16T21:22:38Z")
Not to my knowledge, and specific advocacy for or activity to support political parties or candidates is prohibited by DoD regulations: [Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces](https://dodsoco.ogc.osd.mil/Portals/102/Documents/Political%20Activities%20Docs/2024%20FAQs%20_Military.pdf?ver=W3-Ox7lej-w_BNJCpTp8UQ%3d%3d) > _It is DoD policy to encourage members of the Armed Forces to carry out the obligations of citizenship such as voting. However, active duty members are specifically prohibited from engaging in partisan political activity, and all members of the Armed Forces should always avoid actions that could reasonably be perceived as implying DoD sponsorship, approval, or endorsement of partisan political activity_ However, military veterans tend to be politically ‘conservative’ and have voted for Donald Trump by wide margins in the past three elections: [Military veterans support Trump by wide margin in 2024 election | Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/30/military-veterans-remain-a-republican-group-backing-trump-over-harris-by-wide-margin/#:~:text=About%20six%2Din%2Dten%20registered%20voters%20who%20say%20they%20have%20served%20in%20the%20U.S.%20military%20or%20military%20reserves%20(61%25)%20support%20former%20President%20Donald%20Trump%20in%20the%202024%20presidential%20election%2C%20while%2037%25%20back%20Vice%20President%20Kamala%20Harris%2C%20according%20to%20a%20Pew%20Research%20Center%20survey%20conducted%20in%20early%20September). It is reasonable to infer that most National Guard units follow similar trends, modified by the degree of political alignment by their home state. However, this really doesn’t have any bearing on a National Guard unit being federalized; the President has broad authority under Title 10 provisions to take control of the National Guard units of any state with minimal justification. Stranger