A Tuesday report disclosed that according to Pentagon documents, the Trump Administration is evaluating the possibility of establishing a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” or “QRF.” This force would be composed of National Guard elements, prepared and ready to quickly mobilize to any U.S. city experiencing impending or emerging riots or unrest. The QRF might be operational by fiscal 2027 given the current Pentagon budgeting.
Liberal commentators swiftly criticized the idea, having already labeled President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and his invocation of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to federalize the D.C. Metro Police as a “dangerous D.C. power grab” reminiscent of a “dictator playbook,” according to MSNBC. Host Rachel Maddow commented that Trump “really enjoys using US military force against American civilians on American soil, and wants any excuse to do it anywhere he can.”
Nonetheless, the plan documents, described as “predecisional” by The Washington Post, present a contrasting view. They outline the formation of a force consisting of just 600 personnel on permanent standby, capable of deploying within an hour. This force would be divided into two groups of 300 troops each, based in Alabama and Arizona, responsible for covering the eastern and western parts of the continental United States (CONUS).
The publication reported that the proposal suggests for President Donald Trump to activate the National Guard under his Title 32 authority, typically used when the National Guard is under state command for domestic missions like disaster response, providing “more latitude to participate in law enforcement missions.” Additionally, Title 10 allows military personnel to “support law enforcement activity but not perform arrests or investigations.”
The Insurrection Act of 1807, referenced multiple times by President Trump prior to deploying U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in June, also authorizes the president to use active-duty military personnel to “as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion” within the U.S. “Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.”
The documents clarify that deployments would be staggered, with the initial 100 troops ready to deploy within an hour and subsequent groups prepared within two to twelve hours. All could be deployed simultaneously if necessary. This geographic arrangement would ensure troop presence in any continental U.S. city within two to six hours. The quick reaction teams would be restricted to 90 days on station to “limit burnout.”
The plan reportedly calls for the Force to be manned by a rotation of troops from the Army and Air Force National Guard from states including Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
A DOD official told The Independent, “The Department of Defense is a planning organization and routinely reviews how the department would respond to a variety of contingencies across the globe.” The official added, “We will not discuss these plans through leaked documents, pre-decisional or otherwise.”
🚨BREAKING: President Trump and the Pentagon are considering using a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” to deploy National Guard troops on standby to liberal cities plagued by crime and unrest, WaPo reports. pic.twitter.com/m7PvXa7mqX
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) August 12, 2025
Per the WaPo, the plans describing the Quick Reaction Force were timestamped in July and early August. Addressing the potential fallout of the program, the documents stated, “National Guard support for [Department of Homeland Security] raises potential political sensitivities, questions regarding the appropriate civil-military balance and legal considerations related to their role as a nonpartisan force.”
The concept or the force was tested, the documents revealed, during the 2020 Presidential Election, with 60 troops staged in Alabama and Arizona poised to respond to unrest in the cities, as reported by Fox News.
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