S2198-119

Introduced

To amend title 10, United States Code, to limit the authority of the Department of Defense and other Federal law enforcement personnel to support civilian law enforcement activities, and for other purposes.

119th Congress Introduced Jun 26, 2025

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

This bill significantly limits the military role in domestic law enforcement. It restricts the Secretary of Defense from providing military support to civilian law enforcement unless the President certifies a specific humanitarian crisis, natural disaster, public health emergency, or drug trafficking emergency that overwhelms civilian capabilities. It bars military and DoD civilian employees from simultaneously serving in civilian law enforcement (with an exception for reserve component members in their civilian capacity). It expands requirements for Armed Forces assisting civil authorities beyond just civil disturbances. Finally, it creates a private right of action allowing any aggrieved person, state, or local government to sue in federal court for violations.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for primary purpose and policy domains.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Restricts the Department of Defense from supporting civilian law enforcement activities except in narrowly defined emergency circumstances, prohibits simultaneous service in DoD and civilian law enforcement, expands rules of engagement requirements for military personnel assisting civil authorities, and creates a private right of action for violations.

Key Policy Areas

Defense, Civil Rights

Primary Purpose

Restricts the Department of Defense from supporting civilian law enforcement activities except in narrowly defined emergency circumstances, prohibits simultaneous service in DoD and civilian law enforcement, expands rules of engagement requirements for military personnel assisting civil authorities, and creates a private right of action for violations.

Policy Domains

Defense Civil Rights

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Jun 26, 2025

Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Durbin) introduced …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Defense
7 mentions across 6 clauses
-7 negative

Armed Forces personnel assisting civil authorities, Department of Defense, DoD personnel

Law Enforcement
4 mentions across 4 clauses
-4 negative

Civilian law enforcement relying on military support, Federal law enforcement agencies using military support, Federal law enforcement personnel

General Public
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+2 positive

Communities affected by militarized policing, Persons aggrieved by military law enforcement overreach

Civil Rights Groups
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Civil liberties organizations

Government
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

State and local governments

6/7
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Defense Civil Rights
Actor Mappings
"the_president"
→ President of the United States
"the_secretary_of_defense"
→ Secretary of Defense

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology