A former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, has criticized President Donald Trump, holding him accountable for an incident in which two West Virginia National Guard members were shot. Her argument centers on the idea that by sending troops to Washington, DC, Trump has unnecessarily put them in harm’s way.

In an appearance on CNN on Friday, the Florida congresswoman questioned the necessity of such deployments, suggesting that the situation raises the question of whether someone would have traveled across the country with the intent to target law enforcement officers in the nation’s capital. “The likely answer is no,” she stated, highlighting her concerns about the president’s decisions.

Schultz continued by pondering why Trump’s initial reaction wasn’t to reconsider the deployment of military forces in major cities, particularly without thorough coordination with local leadership. She pointed out that local law enforcement is often more than capable of managing criminal justice matters without military intervention.

Her criticism extends to the broader issue of using military personnel as law enforcement, which she argues goes against the Posse Comitatus Act. This 1878 law generally prohibits the deployment of troops for domestic law enforcement purposes. Notably, a federal judge has already ruled that Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles violated this law.

Schultz argued that the military should not be used as law enforcement officers. Generally, the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits this and Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles was found to be in violation of the 1878 law by a federal judge.

‘It’s never the president’s fault or his policies when it comes to his reaction, and it’s pretty disgusting,’ Schultz said.

The White House was quick to bite back. In a statement to the Daily Mail, spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said that liberals trying to blame Trump for what happened are misguided.

‘This animal would’ve never been here if not for Joe Biden’s dangerous policies which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country and harm the American people. 

‘The Trump Administration is taking every measure possible – in the face of unrelenting Democrat opposition – to get these monsters out of our country and clean up the mess made by the Biden Administration. Instead of defending terrorists, the Democrats should join us in protecting the American people.’

Florida Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former head of the DNC, said on CNN Friday that President Donald Trump’s policies are to blame for the shooting of National Guard troops on Wednesday

The White House fired back and argued that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, would not have been in the country if not for President Joe Biden

Lakanwal, entered the country during Biden’s chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. He came under a program that allowed in thousands of refugees fleeing the Taliban’s draconian rule

Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, opened fire on two National Guard members close to the White House on Wednesday, according to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.

The attack, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism, killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and seriously wounded Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24.

Other liberal commentators agreed with Schultz that the ambush could have been avoided and argued that Trump put troops in danger.

John Pavlovitz, a liberal Christian author, wrote on X: ‘Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are culpable for endangering the National Guard by putting them in harm’s way.’

Wajahat Ali, an opinion writer for The New York Times, offered similar commentary, saying that the National Guard never should have been deployed in Washington.

Liberal podcast host Jack Hopkins took it a step further and claimed that Trump’s rationale for putting soldiers on the street in the nation’s capital back in August – to curb crime – was nothing but a farce.

‘There was no “Emergency” situation with crime in DC. This stunt got a 20 year old young woman killed. It. Got. A. Woman. Killed,’ Hopkins wrote.

Frequent CNN contributor Dean Obeidallah pointed out that Lakanwal, was granted asylum this year under the Trump administration.

Frequent CNN contributor Dean Obeidallah pointed out that the suspect in the shooting, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was granted asylum this year under the Trump administration

Wajahat Ali, an opinion writer for The New York Times, said that the National Guard never should have been deployed in Washington

Lakanwal, 29, first came to the United States in August 2021 under Operations Allies Welcome, an initiative that granted entry to Afghans seeking to avoid living in the country under Taliban control.

Following the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan, nearly 200,000 Afghans have settled in the US thanks to this program, which was later renamed Enduring Welcome. 

Trump accused the Biden administration of failing to vet Lakanwal, who previously worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, according to the agency’s director, John Ratcliffe.

The Washington Post reported that Lakanwal was a part of the CIA’s Zero Units, which were armed paramilitary groups took on deadly missions to kill members of the Taliban, al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups. 

‘A CIA trained operative who Trump granted asylum to in April killed a National Guard member who Trump forced to be in Washington DC. Sounds like Trump is one the responsible for this from beginning to end,’ Obeidallah wrote on BlueSky.

The liberal critic whose statement got perhaps the most engagement was the one put out by New Yorker writer Jane Mayer.

She wrote: ‘This is so tragic, so unnecessary, these poor guardsmen should never have been deployed. I live in DC and watched as they had virtually nothing to do but pick up trash. It was for political show and at what a cost.’

The White House’s official X account replied to her comment and called Mayer a ‘sick, disgusting ghoul’.

‘Two of these heroes were just SHOT IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. The Guard has saved countless lives — backed up by evidence (which you’re clearly too stupid to notice). They are American Patriots,’ the White House added.

One of the National Guard members that was shot being tended to by paramedics

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from injuries she sustained in the shooting

Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24, was in critical condition as of Friday

Criticism from the left on Trump’s willingness to send troops to blue cities has been going on for months.

In June, Trump sent 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard soldiers from California to Los Angeles to quell the No Kings protests.

In September, he also sent troops into Memphis, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon. A number of other cities have been threatened with deployments of federal forces, including New York City, Baltimore, San Francisco and New Orleans.

After the shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Trump requested 500 additional troops in Washington.

Hours before the shooting, the Trump administration filed an emergency application with a federal appeals court to overturn a previous ruling that his decision to deploy the National Guard in Washington was illegal.