Idaho House Committee Votes Down ‘Defend the Guard’ Legislation

On Monday, a committee in the Idaho House of Representatives voted down the Defend the Guard Act, legislation that would prohibit the state’s National Guard from being deployed to a combat zone without a declaration of war from Congress.

Four lawmakers on the House Transportation and Defense Committee voted in favor of the legislation, and 12 voted against it. The bill previously passed through Idaho’s Senate, making it the third state legislature to approve the Defend the Guard Act.

Unfortunately, S.B. 1252 failed in committee in the Idaho House of Representatives this afternoon.

The final vote was 4 to 12.

Thank you to our bill sponsors, Rep. Ted Hill, a former fighter pilot with 38 years of service in the U.S. Navy, and Senator Ben Adams, a former U.S.…

— Bring Our Troops Home (@TroopsHomeUS) March 18, 2024

Bring Our Troops Home, the organization behind Defend the Guard, vowed it would keep fighting to advance the legislation to rein in the federal government’s ability to wage war despite the setback in Idaho.

“As veterans, we’re prepared to continue until our brothers and sisters in uniform are given the respect they deserve and are kept out of undeclared wars. The fight, in Idaho and elsewhere, is not over,” the organization wrote on X.

Bring Our Troops Home is looking for volunteers to phone bank to help get the legislation passed in other states. Click here to volunteer.

Defend the Guard is a nationwide movement, and a version of the bill has been introduced in over 30 states. Go to Defendtheguard.us to see the status of the legislation in your state.

National Guard units are frequently deployed to wars in the Middle East and Africa, including in Syria and Somalia. The recent drone attack that killed three members of the US Army Reserve at Tower 22 in Jordan also wounded about 40 members of the Arizona National Guard.