Tim Sheehy Backs Bill to Prevent National Guardsmen Being Deployed to Fight in Foreign Wars

Montana Senate Republican candidate and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy endorsed the “Defend the Guard” movement, which would block National Guard units from being deployed into foreign wars unless Congress officially declares war, per the Constitution.

Sheehy told state Rep. Lee Deming (R), the sponsor of the Defend the Guard Act in Big Sky Country, that he “100 percent” backs the bill. Essentially, the bill will prohibit state National Guards from being sent to fight in foreign wars, unless Congress officially declares war.

In his explanation of why he backs the national Defend the Guard movement, Sheehy said that the Constitution only mandates a Navy and that during the Cold War the United States built up a “massive military industrial complex.”

Sheehy said the point of Deming’s bill is to prevent the Department of Defense from treating National Guard units as “another unit of the federal military.”

“And, really, that’s unconstitutional,” Sheehy remarked, saying that America should not send American troops overseas except for very specific counterterrorism operations. He also said that America has not formally declared war since World War Two.

Liam McCollum, an activist affiliated with the Montana Libertarian Party, reportedly sent a letter featuring many libertarian and antiwar advocates, calling on former President Donald Trump to endorse the Defend the Guard Act:

Donald Trump should endorse the Defend the Guard movement and defend his support on these grounds: To appeal to Libertarians, he can say that he is “America First” and is opposed to wars that have not been declared by Congress under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11. To appeal to Republicans, he can say he believes the National Guard should be used for its constitutionally prescribed function under Article 1 Section 8, Clause 15 at the border to stop an “invasion” instead of being engaged in endless wars.

If re-elected, Trump has an opportunity to alter the course of American history for the better and prevent the United States government from becoming the centralized empire that the Founders feared.

The letter also noted that endorsing the Defend the Guard movement is another move to win over libertarians, especially for libertarian-leaning states such as Montana. The letter noted that the Montana Republican Party became the sixth state GOP to adopt Defend the Guard language.

Major signatories of the letter include Joe Kent, a Republican candidate for Washington’s third district, former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, and Dan McKnight, the chairman of Bring Our Troops Home.

Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian National Committee, on Saturday wrote that the libertarians in Montana met with Sheehy and Trump to discuss Defend the Guard and foreign policy.

A recent poll found that Sheehy has a six-point lead over his Democrat counterpart, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT).

WATCH: GOP Senate Candidate Tim Sheehy on How to Beat Jon Tester in Montana:

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.