Pentagon drawing up quick reaction force of National Guard ready to quell civil unrest at any moment: report

The documents, reportedly prepared for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by policy chief Elbridge Colby, outline a "predecisional" idea. 

"The Department of Defense is a planning organization and routinely reviews how the department would respond to a variety of contingencies across the globe," a defense official told Fox News Digital. " We will not discuss these plans through leaked documents, pre-decisional or otherwise."

The administration has also sent thousands of troops to the southern border in a show of force to discourage illegal immigration.

The administration would rely on Title 32, a status in which the National Guard operates under the command of a state governor but is funded by the federal government, according to the Post. The authority is typically used for domestic missions, such as responding to natural disasters. When deployed under Title 32, Guard members may be granted limited law enforcement powers. A section of the U.S. Code allows the commander in chief to bypass certain restrictions on using the military for domestic purposes.

The quick reaction teams would work on 90-day rotations to "limit burnout." 

The documents also laid out potential negative implications of the idea: questions about appropriate civil-military balance and legal considerations, budget and logistical constraints, and reduced availability for local emergency missions. 

The National Guard first tested the concept of a reaction force ahead of the 2020 election, when 60 troops in Arizona and Alabama were told to be on alert and ready to deploy to respond to political violence. The Guard deployed to numerous locations to respond to protests in the wake of George Floyd's death.