Defense secretary breaks with Trump, opposes using military for protests

By ZEKE MILLER, JONATHAN LEMIRE, MICHAEL BALSAMO and ROBERT BURNS
WASHINGTON — Breaking with President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday he opposes using military forces for law enforcement in containing current street protests.
Esper said the Insurrection Act, which would allow Trump to use active-duty military for law enforcement in containing street protests, should be invoked in the United States “only in the most urgent and dire of situations.” He d