Port: Lawmaker suggests Burgum’s troop deployment was motivated by presidential campaign
MINOT, N.D. — On June 1, Gov. Doug Burgum announced that he would be deploying North Dakota National Guard troops to assist the state of Texas with border security.
On June 7, Burgum announced that he’d be running for president.
On June 13, Burgum signed an executive order declaring an emergency and authorizing the deployment of approximately 100 Guard members from the Wahpeton-based 188th Engineer Company.
During a meeting of the Legislature’s Budget Section committee Thursday, June 29, Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, said he sees a connection between those events. “I thought it was a timing that related more to the presidential campaign than the needs of our state,” he said.
