April, 2007 article by James Bovard in The American Conservative detailed the destruction of this particular long-standing democratic safeguard:

The Defense Authorization Act of 2006, passed on Sept. 30, empowers President George W. Bush to impose martial law in the event of a terrorist “incident,” if he or other federal officials perceive a shortfall of “public order,” or even in response to antiwar protests that get unruly as a result of government provocations… .

It only took a few paragraphs in a $500 billion, 591-page bill to raze one of the most important limits on federal power. Congress passed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to severely restrict the president’s ability to deploy ...

April, 2007 article by James Bovard in The American Conservative detailed the destruction of this particular long-standing democratic safeguard:

The Defense Authorization Act of 2006, passed on Sept. 30, empowers President George W. Bush to impose martial law in the event of a terrorist “incident,” if he or other federal officials perceive a shortfall of “public order,” or even in response to antiwar protests that get unruly as a result of government provocations… .

It only took a few paragraphs in a $500 billion, 591-page bill to raze one of the most important limits on federal power. Congress passed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to severely restrict the president’s ability to deploy the military within the United States. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 tightened these restrictions, imposing a two-year prison sentence on anyone who used the military within the U.S. without the express permission of Congress. But there is a loophole: Posse Comitatus is waived if the president invokes the Insurrection Act.

The governors don't have full control of the National Guard. If the president wants to send them overseas, the governors can't stop it. Madeleine M. Kunin, the former governor of Vermont, has spoken about this:

I was commander-in-chief of the Vermont National Guard when I was
governor of Vermont from 1985 to 1991. I flew in a helicopter when I
visited the troops at Camp Drum where they were doing their summer
training each year. I attended ceremonial events and had my picture
taken with the troops...

The governors don't have full control of the National Guard. If the president wants to send them overseas, the governors can't stop it. Madeleine M. Kunin, the former governor of Vermont, has spoken about this:

I was commander-in-chief of the Vermont National Guard when I was
governor of Vermont from 1985 to 1991. I flew in a helicopter when I
visited the troops at Camp Drum where they were doing their summer
training each year. I attended ceremonial events and had my picture
taken with the troops, just like Governor Palin. That was it. I had zero authority over the troops. I even tested my power during
my term of office when I objected to the Vermont National Guard being
sent to Honduras for training. I was responding to many of my
constituents who objected to the guard being deployed there because
they feared it would heighten U.S. participation in the strife in
Nicaragua. I was promptly told, "No way." To make certain that no Governor
tried to be "commander-in-chief" of the national guard the Congress
passed a law in 1987, called, the Montgomery amendment which states
"that a governor cannot withhold consent with regard to active duty
outside of the United States." In 2007, governors' powers were whittled
down further by the John Warner Defense Administration Act: "the
Governor of a state is no longer the sole commander-in-chief of the
National Guard during emergencies within the state. The President of
the United States will now be able to take control of a state's
National Guard units without the governor's consent."