SEATTLE'S MORNING NEWS

AG Brown: WA has spent past year preparing for ‘unlawful’ National Guard deployment

Oct 7, 2025, 6:11 PM | Updated: Oct 8, 2025, 11:29 am

As President Donald Trump called for the National Guard in Portland, Seattle has been bracing for similar federal action.

Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said the state has been laying the groundwork for the past year.

“We’ve been preparing for this sort of thing from the beginning, not just during my nine months as Attorney General, but over the last year,” Brown said on “Seattle’s Morning News.” “Plus, states across the country, including Washington, have reviewed what the president said, reviewed statements in Project 2025, which contemplated this sort of thing, to make sure that we had all the legal research done and all the analysis done to see how we might have to respond to this.”

Brown believes National Guard deployment to Seattle is unwarranted.

“There’s certainly not an insurrection happening in Washington. There’s not anything in Seattle that would necessarily necessitate that kind of action. But we have to be ready for this sort of recklessness that we’ve seen from DC,” he shared.

Brown added that the president’s actions violate the law.

“It’s not lawful to do it in the way that the president is doing it. That is why multiple judges across the country have found it unlawful, including judges appointed by the president himself,” he explained.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Seattle's Morning News

Seattle Public Schools...

Charlie Harger

Harger: 21 Seattle schools could merge. Superintendent Ben Shuldiner is leveling with families about why

About 150 parents and community members filled Robert Eagle Staff Middle School Monday night to talk with Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Ben Shuldiner and his staff. They asked about academic rigor, school safety, and what comes next.

23 hours ago

veteran...

Manda Factor

Lakewood’s American Lake Veterans Golf Course helps veterans find purpose

Lake Veterans Golf Course offers more than a round of golf. It offers veterans a place to find purpose and connect with others.

2 days ago

Washington PAC Donors...

Charlie Harger

Harger: Washington PACs could take $7,500 per donor last week. Now the sky’s the limit with just days to go until the election

On Friday, 11 days before the election, the state Public Disclosure Commission announced it will stop enforcing Washington's limit on big last-minute checks to political campaigns.

2 days ago

vote...

Charlie Harger

Harger: Some voters in Hoquiam, Oakville and Raymond have to vote again. What a mess

Some voters in one town send back a second ballot on top of the first. Some voters in two other towns get a new ballot to fill out.

3 days ago

Beecher’s founder’s new Redmond steakhouse...

Manda Factor

Five tables, no chairs: Inside Beecher’s founder’s new Redmond steakhouse

A new steak restaurant from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese founder Kurt Dammeier offers customers a place to eat, but nowhere to sit.

6 days ago

aurora avenue seattle viral video pimp war trafficking...

Charlie Harger

Harger: A porch light stopped an alleged rape off Aurora Avenue. Olympia gets its turn in January

At 2:47 a.m. last Saturday, someone living four blocks away from Aurora Avenue called 911. A woman was screaming inside a car in the alley.

6 days ago

AG Brown: WA has spent past year preparing for ‘unlawful’ National Guard deployment