New York Times: Trump White House aides drafted proclamation on Insurrection Act amid Floyd protests
CNN
White House aides prepared a draft proclamation last June to invoke the Insurrection Act as then-President Donald Trump debated deploying active-duty US soldiers in response to protests after the death of George Floyd, The New York Times reported Friday, citing two senior Trump administration officials.
The aides put together the proposed proclamation on June 1, 2020, the Times reports, the same day that protesters were forcefully cleared from Lafayette Park -- a park across the street from the White House traditionally used for peaceful protests and demonstrations -- just prior to Trump's controversial photo op at St. John's Church, where he held up a Bible after he had declared himself the "law and order" President. At the time, a livid Trump made clear to then-top Cabinet members Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff Mark Milley that he wanted active members of the military to patrol the streets in DC, an official told the Times.President Joe Biden on Sunday delivers his first commencement address of the 2024 season at Morehouse College, where the president may for the first time in months have to confront the angst that’s been percolating on college campuses nationwide toward his administration’s policies on the Israel-Hamas war.
Arab and Palestinian Americans left a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday night frustrated they did not have a clear understanding of how the Biden administration might act upon their concerns as the Israel-Hamas war devastates the civilian population in Gaza, participants told CNN.