WASHINGTON— Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary and proud states’ rights enthusiast, took to X last year to warn America that any attempt by President Biden to federalize the National Guard would represent a “direct attack on states’ rights.” Weeks later, she seamlessly transitioned to defending President Trump’s decision to federalize the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.—proof that GOP consistency remains as sturdy as wet tissue paper.
Republican officials quickly assured the public that there was nothing contradictory about this position. “When a Democrat federalizes the Guard, it’s tyranny,” explained one strategist. “When a Republican does it, it’s leadership. This is a long-standing policy, and we’re very proud of our tradition.”
Noem’s stance reflects a pattern so well-established that it no longer shocks political observers: Republicans are fiercely opposed to federal power unless they are the ones wielding it, in which case it becomes not only constitutional but also ordained by God, the Founding Fathers, and possibly Ronald Reagan’s ghost.
During Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Governor Gavin Newsom objected, filing lawsuits that cited the Tenth Amendment and the Posse Comitatus Act. A federal judge agreed that Trump had overstepped. But for Noem, this was not an attack on democracy—it was a bold defense of law and order. The difference? Trump’s name was on the order.
The irony was even sharper in Washington, D.C., where Trump federalized the Guard and seized control of the Metropolitan Police Department despite the city’s violent crime rate hitting a 30-year low. For Noem, this wasn’t hypocrisy; it was states’ rights in action—though notably not the District of Columbia’s rights.
This is hardly new territory. Republicans have long denounced executive overreach, only to embrace it when their own party is in power. From emergency declarations to surveillance programs, the playbook has always been to oppose authoritarianism until they get the keys.
Noem herself has leaned into this tradition with enthusiasm. On Face the Nation, she argued that Trump’s federalization of the Guard was necessary to prevent “a repeat of 2020,” a reference to protests that took place in her own state. Left unmentioned was her earlier statement that Biden even considering such moves would be tantamount to attacking the Constitution itself.
Observers note that Noem’s flexibility on the matter isn’t an exception—it’s the Republican Party’s most reliable feature.
In short: Kristi Noem’s logic is not flawed, it’s merely Republican.
