Quote:
Originally Posted by blueash
Google suggests that
2. The national guard has a role in disaster relief. The guard is called to action by the individual governors of the states with disasters. The Federal government does not call up the guard. The National Guard has been "mobilized in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, with help from the Maryland, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Connecticut" |
The National Guard in Washington DC does get called into action by the President, because DC doesn't have a governor since it's not a state.
The President can also federalize the state National Guards in particular circumstances, such as to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion. Authorized by the Insurrection Act of 1807. A hurricane, however, is not one of those circumstances.