House bans privately funded National Guard missions, like one ordered by South Dakota governor in Texas

This summer, Governor Kristi Noem caused a furore by sending the National Guard from her state to secure the Texas border with Mexico, with a private donor picking up the tab. The House is set to ban any further deployments.

Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, sent 50 troops "to secure our southern border," in a move that her Texas counterpart, Greg Abbott, enthusiastically welcomed. The mission was framed as a response to a security crisis that, as Noem put it, President Joe Biden's administration "has created." Unconventionally, it was funded by a private donation from the family foundation of the Tennessee vehicle-salvage magnate, Willis Johnson.

The deployment generated shockwaves, with critics in the Democratic Party wondering if it was even legal to turn the Guards into a 'private militia' that billionaires can 'hire' to perform a 'partisan political stunt.' The answer to that turned out to be 'yes, it's legal.' But, in the future, similar deployments, if they do happen, would depend on the good will of the federal government.

The restriction was approved in an amendment to the must-pass annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which went through a markup session by the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. The provision bans governors from ordering privately-funded cross-border missions, unless they are part of a federal response to a disaster.

"I don't believe that our National Guard should be up for auction or up for sale," said Texas Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar as she introduced the amendment. She offered a transparency rationale for the proposal, saying there was no way to tell if a "foreign government" hostile to the US could be the ultimate source of private funding.

Rep. Austin Scott from Georgia pushed back, stating that it was "an absolutely ridiculous accusation that National Guards are up for sale." The Republican pointed out that all cross-border deployments, regardless of how they are funded, require the approval and cooperation of elected officials – the governors of relevant states. Nevertheless, the proposal was approved by the committee.

US states send their National Guard personnel across their borders on a regular basis, providing additional boots on the ground and resources to respond to emergencies like hurricanes or big wildfires. The host state usually foots the bill.

Noem's office said South Dakota law regulating emergency management gave the governor the authority to cover the expenses for the deployment to Texas with private money. Escobar's amendment preserves an exemption for privately-funded disaster relief, but only during a major emergency or disaster announced by the US President.

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