District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act
This bill, the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act, would shift legal authority over the District of Columbia National Guard from the President of the United States (and, in many provisions, the DC National Guard’s commanding general) to the Mayor of the District of Columbia. By replacing references to the President and the DC National Guard’s federal-administrative leadership with the Mayor, the measure makes the Mayor the commander-in-chief and primary administrator for DC’s National Guard, mirroring the authority governors exercise over their state National Guards. It also requires numerous conforming amendments across federal titles (Title 10 and Title 32) and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to reflect the Mayor’s new role in appointments, training, duty, and other administrative functions. In short, the bill would give DC local government substantially more control over its National Guard, aligning its governance with typical state-level control while maintaining any applicable federal oversight for national missions.
Key Points
- 1Mayor as Commander-in-Chief and primary administrator
- 2- Replaces references to the President of the United States with the Mayor of the District of Columbia in the DC militia laws, and establishes the Mayor as the chief executive responsible for administration, appointment, duty calls, and related matters.
- 3Broad replacement of references to DC National Guard leadership
- 4- Substitutes the Mayor for terms like “commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard” in numerous sections of the DC code and related federal code, including appointments, training, selection of officers, and retirement.
- 5Conforming amendments to federal law (Titles 10 and 32)
- 6- Amends multiple sections of Title 10 and Title 32 to recognize the Mayor as the responsible authority (e.g., appointments of top NG officials, consent for active duty or relocation, authority for active guard and reserve duty) and to align terminology accordingly.
- 7Expanded local control over readiness and deployment processes
- 8- Changes to call-up, duty status, and related procedures (e.g., “Call for Duty,” general courts-martial, and active-duty authorities) to reflect Mayor-directed processes rather than federal control.
- 9Conforming amendment to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act
- 10- Amends the Home Rule Act to remove a specific DC National Guard reference, signaling a move toward local governance of the DC National Guard consistent with other local government authorities.