Rep. Moulton says many Marine junior officers are opposed to LA deployment

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and Marine veteran, says many Marine officers may be weighing whether to disobey orders as President Trump deploys forces into Los Angeles.

Moulton, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joined WBUR's Morning Edition to share his thoughts on the growing military presence in Los Angeles amid protests over immigration arrests.

Below are highlights from the conversation, which have been lightly edited

"The danger is that he's politicizing the military, which is exactly what dictators do. Having an apolitical military is so fundamental to a democracy because it means that no one leader, no one political party can use the military to his or her advantage.

""I  know there are a lot of military officers thinking hard about whether they need to disobey orders from the commander in chief that may be unlawful. There is some legal debate about exactly where the line is here..."

"Many junior officers come to me and say, 'How do you think about disobeying orders? Because we might have to do that under this commander in chief.' I've had junior Marine officers ask me this question from the first Trump term and the second Trump term. I've not spoken to any junior officer specifically deploying to LA at the moment, but I know this is on their minds..."

" I know for a fact that the Marines are quite unhappy with this deployment. They don't want to be sent into LA to stand off against the American people. I've heard from them. I'm not speaking to every single Marine, and I can't speak for every single Marine. But I know, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, that there are many Marines who are unhappy with what the president is doing because they think it's inappropriate."

"This is a very different situation today. The governor of California is opposed to having the Marines come in. It's not even clear what the Marines are doing."